


Because He's Sunrise

by orphan_account



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Accidental Exhibitionism, Accidental Voyeurism, Alternate Universe, Blood, Blow Jobs, Domestic Fluff, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fist Fights, Guns, Hair-pulling, Illegal Activities, Kidnapping, Kissing, Knuckle kisses, M/M, Non-erotic Teasing, Past Abuse, Past Drug Use, Presumed Dead, Rescue, Scars, Sharing a Bed, Shooting, Violence, another (suspected) kidnapping, someone gets drugged
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 07:53:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13095717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Aaron is the Matt Guardian, Guardian of the Matt. Riko quivers before him. (FUCK OFF!)(the trope-filled bodyguard au requested by @webedragons <3)





	Because He's Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WeBeDragons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeBeDragons/gifts).



> can you find all the tropes? :)
> 
> i was prompted for a bodyguard au with a ton of tropes - i had... too much fun with this. thank you, bryn, for putting up with me all the time and for being so amazing <3
> 
> Title from [Emily Dickinson's "'Why do I love' You, Sir?" ](https://m.poemhunter.com/poem-amp/why-do-i-love-you-sir/)
> 
> as always, if there's something else that needs to be tagged, please let me know
> 
> also!!! bryn was kind enough to provide my summary (based on that one vine) and i think it's fucking awesome

“I still don't get why you're here,” Matt says through yet another yawn. “I'm a fucking mixed martial artist. I can take care of myself.”

“Mhm,” Aaron says, scrolling through Twitter because he's bored out of his skull. He doesn't know why, either. “I don't get paid to ask those kind of questions.” He'd given Wymack a weird look when he'd been given the assignment, but he didn't ask. Wymack hadn't said much, either. “Someone thinks you need protecting, so that's what I'm here to do.”

“You're five feet tall,” Matt says bluntly.

“Your point?” Aaron asks, looking away from his phone to give Matt a blank look.

“What can you do that I can't?”

“I can legally shoot someone,” Aaron says with a shrug. Matt just blinks at him. “I might not be a pro fighter like you, but I could still take your ass down, Boyd. Don't tempt me.”

Matt cracks a smile for whatever weird reason. Aaron doesn't often get chosen for the longer assignments. They're usually Andrew's thing. He's the silent shadow. Andrew is good at his job, but he's brutal and a little too trigger happy sometimes. Aaron is more methodical, but he's no less twitchy overall. Aaron's personality just doesn't click with too many people - in fact, he can't think of one single client he's actually gotten along with. Andrew just doesn't care, and he doesn't talk to anyone, which makes him ideal for these long jobs. Too bad he's stuck on permanent assignment with Kevin Day now. Aaron honestly doesn't know how he can't stand to be in the same room with the guy for more than five minutes unless Day is drunk off his ass.

“Are you always this friendly?” Matt asks with a laugh.

“Yep,” Aaron says, and pops the ‘p’ obnoxiously. He tucks his phone in his pocket. They're close to Matt's apartment building now. He hasn't been there yet - he only just got the assignment this evening and barely made it to watch Matt's fight. He hates last-minute shit. Wymack knows that, dammit. He twists to face Matt in the backseat of the car.

“Here's the deal. When we get to your apartment, you give me the keys. I will unlock the door and go in first. I'll do a quick sweep to make sure no one is inside, then you can come in. Wymack didn't mention anything about bomb threats, so that won't be my focus. If you get blown up, sue me.” Matt rolls his eyes. “Don't come in until I tell you it's safe. I don't care what you hear. I will physically come to the door and tell you to come in. Got it?”

“Why does it matter?” Matt asks. He yawns again and scratches at his jaw over a forming bruise. “Can't you just shout or something?”

“One, that's rude as fuck. Two, no. What happens if someone has a gun to my head and happens to sound like me when they call for you, huh? You'll walk your happy ass into a major fucking problem. If I don't come back after a few minutes, call the cops and leave. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Matt sighs. “This is just so unnecessary. So I got a couple of threatening phone calls and letters and shit. It happens.”

“I want to see them,” Aaron demands.

“We can call my mom tomorrow. She's my manager.” Matt shrugs. “She's the one who insisted on hiring you. I still say this is a waste of time and money.”

“She doesn't think so,” Aaron mutters. He narrows his eyes. “Wait. Your mom?” He doesn't like the sound of that, honestly. If Matt's mom is his manager, that means Aaron will likely have to deal with her at least semi-regularly. It makes his guts clench.

“Yeah, she was a boxer. She only retired a few years ago. Randy Boyd.”

“I've heard of her,” Aaron says with a slight, cautious nod. “She was really good.” Matt doesn't notice his hesitancy, or, at least, he doesn't comment on it.

Matt grins. “Yeah. She still is. She's one of my trainers, too.” He laughs. Aaron fights to keep himself from squirming. A strong woman who beats the shit out of her son on a regular basis? Even if it's for Matt's training, he doesn't like it.

The car slows to a stop outside of Matt's building. Matt grabs his duffel from the floorboard and Aaron grabs his. They get out of the car together and Aaron stands on the sidewalk on high-alert as Matt pays the driver. That done, they head inside. Matt greets the doorman with a friendly wave, explains who Aaron is, and then they're on the elevator and headed up to the top floor.

Matt gives Aaron the keys in the elevator. Aaron gives Matt a flat look for the stupid Foxes keychain, but he doesn't say anything about it. When they get to Matt's door, Aaron draws his gun from the holster on his thigh and he heads inside after twisting the key in the lock. He'll replace the locks tomorrow - they're too easy to pick. He makes a face at the sight of all the takeout containers piled on Matt's kitchen counters, but he quickly begins his walk through the apartment. It doesn't take long.

“All right, come in,” Aaron says, walking back over to the door. He shoves his gun back into the holster once he sees Matt is still exactly as he left him. Matt comes in and shuts the door behind him. Aaron shoots him a sour look and deliberately flips the deadbolt and slides the security bolt into place. “Lock the fucking door after you come home, moron.”

“Do you get off on insulting people?” Matt asks. He tosses his gym bag into a corner and flops down on the long leather couch in the living room.

Aaron doesn't bother to answer that. “I'm changing your locks tomorrow, by the way.”

“Whatever,” Matt says, waving his hand in the air. “I'm sure you saw the guest room. It's all yours. Get whatever you want from the kitchen. Make yourself at home.”

“Don't mind if I do,” Aaron mutters. He leaves his duffel where he dropped it upon entering. He goes straight for the kitchen and gathers up all the take out containers before cramming them in the trash can. He makes a face at the inside of Matt's fridge. “You don't even have any food. What the fuck.”

“I'm almost never here,” Matt says. “Just call and order something.”

Aaron frowns. He guesses he doesn't really have a choice for tonight, but that's another thing that will change starting tomorrow. Too bad Matt doesn't know about it yet. He thinks he'll wait to break the news to him. He pulls up an app on his phone and places an order quickly. Before he finishes, he reluctantly asks Matt if he wants anything. Matt tells him what he wants from the Thai place, so Aaron orders everything and cringes at the price.

While he waits, he unpacks his shit in the guest room. He's grateful he gets his own bathroom at least. When he heads back into the living room, Matt has his shirt off and is pressing a big ice pack to his ribs. Aaron flops into the chair across from him.

“Aloe and vitamin C help bruises,” Aaron says, nodding at one of the more severe-looking bruises on Matt's chest.

“I take vitamin C like crazy, but I thought aloe was for burns?” Matt shifts the ice pack a little higher.

“Pure aloe gel reduces inflammation,” Aaron says with a shrug. “My ex girlfriend is a nurse.”

“My ex girlfriend used to be a stripper,” Matt says with a laugh. “I might have some aloe. I don't know if it's what you're talking about, but I can check.”

Aaron stands first. “Where is it?”

“In my bathroom,” Matt says. “The linen closet. There's a red bag in there with all kinds of first aid shit. But I can get it.”

Aaron ignores him. “Keep that ice on for twenty minutes.”

“I know, I know,” Matt says, waving him off.

Aaron rolls his eyes and heads into Matt's bedroom for the second time that night. It's huge, but the bed in the middle of the room takes up a good portion of it. It's an extra long king-sized bed. Aaron figures someone as tall as Matt probably needs an extra long bed. He rolls his eyes again and goes into the bathroom. The red bag is easy to find, but what Matt considers “first aid shit” is atrocious. He'll fix that, too, since he's here. If either of them do happen to get hurt, he doesn't want to have to go to a hospital to deal with it.

He heads back out with the aloe gel - it was what Matt needed - and he puts it on the coffee table in front of Matt. “There. You can use that multiple times a day. Think about finding some vitamin K cream, too.”

“How do you know so much about this?” Matt asks. “Ice is usually fine for me, but I also don't usually have so many fights scheduled like this…”

“Which is why I made the suggestion,” Aaron says plainly. “And, sorry, you must be at least a level six friend to unlock the tragic backstory. You're a client, not even close to a friend. You're shit out of luck.” He isn't about to spill his black past to Matt for no reason.

Matt laughs. “All right, fine. Fuck, laughing hurts. Don't do that.”

“I wasn't laughing,” Aaron says dryly. Matt grins. “Goddamn, if you treat everyone this way, no wonder your mom hired me. Instead of a ‘kick me’ sign, I'll just tape a fucking target to your back. How's that?”

“I don't have to be mean,” Matt says with a shrug. “I beat the shit out of people for a living. And I'm good at it. If someone tries to hurt me, I'll do the same to them.”

Aaron sighs and shakes his head. “Have you been in a fight outside of a ring in the last five years?” Matt pauses, then shakes his head. “Okay then. You aren't familiar with the energy for it anymore. It's not like one of your fights where there are rules and no weapons. I have knives, my guns, and I can get other shit if I need it. When you are literally fighting for your life, it's a lot different. I don't expect you to understand it. But don't question me if I tell you to do something. Got it?”

“Like what?” Matt asks suspiciously.

“If we are out somewhere and I tell you to go inside, fucking do it. If I tell you to get behind me, do it. If I draw my gun, hit the fucking ground. Understand? I'm twitchy and observant, and I don't like people. But I'm good at what I do. I've never had a client get hurt while I was protecting them. I'm not about to start with you.”

“What about you?” Matt asks, frowning. “Do you get hurt?”

Aaron shrugs. “It's part of the job.” Someone knocks on Matt's door. He figures it's the take out. He stands and walks over to the door. He's too short to see through the peephole, so he doesn't bother with it and opens the door. He keeps one hand on his gun as he does so. It's just a kid with their food, though.

“Here,” Matt says. Aaron turns his head. Matt's holding out his wallet. Aaron opens his mouth to argue, but Matt just throws his wallet at him. “Consider it per diem or whatever.”

Aaron rolls his eyes, but he doesn't argue. He grabs the wallet from the floor and pays the kid - with a generous tip, since it's Matt's money - and shuts and locks the door after he leaves. He takes the food to the living room and Matt turns on the tv. He finds an exy game for them to watch.

About halfway through the third quarter, Matt suddenly pauses the game. He looks over at Aaron. “Is that...you?” He looks at the tv again, then back at Aaron. It's not a live game, so it would be physically possible. The small blond sitting in the third row does look an awful lot like Aaron, after all.

“No,” Aaron sighs. He stabs his fork into his rice. “That’s my twin brother, Andrew. He's protecting Kevin Day.”

“Oh.” Matt sounds surprised. “Neil didn't mention Kevin needing a bodyguard…”

“You know the loudmouth?” Aaron asks with a grimace.

Matt laughs. “Yeah, he's a good friend of mine. He's the one who convinced Kevin to switch teams after the whole mess with Riko went down. So now Neil and Kevin live together.”

“How do you know them?” Aaron asks.

“Sorry, you have to be a level two friend for that information,” Matt teases. Aaron just rolls his eyes. “Nah. We go to the same gym. Sometimes I even teach him how to box.” Matt grins, then he looks at Aaron curiously. “Do you know how to box? That's what I started with, ages ago, before I got into the MMA stuff.”

“A little,” Aaron says with a shrug. “I learned several years ago. It's not really my style when it comes to a real fight. But it was okay.”

“You should get in the ring with me,” Matt says with a laugh. “I'll go easy on you.”

“Don't,” Aaron says shortly. “I won't be that nice.”

Matt just shakes his head. He resumes the game and they don't talk while they eat. When they're done, Aaron gathers up the trash and throws it all out while Matt calls Neil. They talk about the game for a while, so Aaron goes to shower, interrupting Matt to tell him simply not to answer the door for anyone. Matt agrees easily. Maybe this assignment won't be as bad as Aaron thought…

* * *

The next day, Aaron drags Matt along with him to the hardware store for better locks and then to the grocery store, where he less-than-politely informs him that he won't be getting take out so much. Until Aaron can figure out who might be the one behind all of the threats against Matt, he isn't taking any chances.

“What am I supposed to eat, then?” Matt asks with a frown. “I...can't really cook much.”

“I can,” Aaron sighs.

“Really?” Matt asks. He grins. “That's awesome.” Aaron just shakes his head and they grocery shop together, mostly making sure they stick to Matt's diet plan.

After grocery shopping, they go back to the apartment. Aaron does a quick check before he allows Matt to come inside, then they put everything away. Matt's a little sluggish and wincing a lot as he bends and twists, which makes Aaron suspect a bruised rib or two, but he doesn't mention it. Matt calls his mom to come over and has her bring the stuff that Matt's gotten as threats. Aaron cooks lunch for them while they wait for her to arrive.

The knocking startles Aaron. He'd been staring off into space a bit, just standing in the kitchen and waiting for the timer on the oven to beep. He flinches badly enough to knock a spoon to the floor as his hand goes instantly for the gun on his thigh. He mutters a curse under his breath and walks to the door, trying to shake the jumpy feeling.

It's Randy. She gives him a smile, which he doesn't return, and he stays well out of arm's reach as she comes in the apartment. She seems to notice quickly, at least, so she doesn't try to get too close to him. He goes back to the kitchen after locking the door behind her. He grabs the spoon that he knocked to the floor and he spends the next minutes vigorously scrubbing it, mostly to have a way to hide his shaking hands. There's a reason his clients are never older women…

When the oven beeps, he takes the casserole out and he lets it sit for a few minutes while he digs through the drawers and cabinets in his hunt for silverware and plates. He dumps some food onto three plates and drops the other two plates on the counter for Randy and Matt to come get when they want them. He stands with his back to the counter by the fridge to eat.

“Oh, thank you,” Randy says with a smile when she notices that the food is ready.

Aaron just shrugs. “Matt says he can't cook. No more delivery until I figure out what's going on.”

“Speaking of.” Randy puts her plate back down on the counter, though she'd literally only just picked it up, and she goes over to the couch. She grabs a bundle of letters from her bag and brings them over to the kitchen. “Those are the most recent. We didn't really think much of them at first, so we just tossed them. But...well...just read them. You'll see why I'm worried.”

Aaron steps forward to grab the bundle, then he steps back again. He puts the pile on the counter and grabs the first one. They're all typed and printed on generic paper, no special marks of any kind. “I'm assuming there was no return address?”

“No,” Matt says. “They just keep showing up at the office where Mom and my PR rep work.”

“Nothing here at your building?” Aaron asks, looking up from skimming the frankly vulgar and disturbing letter. Matt shakes his head. “That's good, at least. Calls, texts, emails?”

“I've had to change my number three times,” Matt says with a shrug. “Whoever it is hasn't gotten this one yet, but it's probably just a matter of time. Remmy, my PR lady, says that my social media shit has been flooded with the same threats.”

“The cops were useless,” Randy says with a grimace. “They said there was nothing they could do unless Matt was physically attacked. Women are stalked and harassed all the time, but because Matt is a guy, it doesn't matter?” She sounds furious and indignant.

Aaron just shrugs. There's nothing he can do about any of that, and he isn't there to make her feel better. “When you start getting shit on your phone again, let me know. Renee can trace almost anything. She'll need access to all your social media, too, so she can track the IP address that sent that stuff.”

“We've tried that,” Randy says. “Nothing turned up. All of it was sent from dummy accounts with bogus email addresses and it was all done from public places.”

“Still, better let Renee have access,” Aaron says. “She's good at what she does.” Randy just nods. Aaron gestures to the letters. “Are all of these the same?”

“Mostly,” Matt says with a shrug. “Freaks me out a little, just ‘cause they're so explicit, but I mean, no one's tried to hurt me or get into my apartment.”

“Yet,” Aaron mutters darkly. He puts the letter down and crosses his arms. “I don't usually deal with this crap, but Andrew does, so I'm familiar with how it all works. People like this escalate. They don't just stop.”

“I told you,” Randy says to Matt. She looks over at Aaron. “So you're going to try to figure out who this is?”

“Yeah,” Aaron nods. “I don't want to be stuck here forever, and I know you don't want to pay me forever, so the agency I work for will help me figure out who's behind all of this and put a stop to it. I can't say how long it will take, but we'll do all we can.”

“Thank you,” Randy says softly. “Matt's next fight is in Denver. We’ll pay your travel expenses and all of that, so don't worry about it.”

Aaron nods once. He grabs his plate and eats the last few bites before leaving his dishes in the sink. “I'm going to go look over these.” Randy and Matt nod. He grabs the letters and gives Randy a wide berth as he walks to his room.

He reads through a few more of the letters before he grabs his phone and sends a picture of one to Andrew. He adds “look familiar?” to the image and waits for a response. Two minutes later, Andrew calls him.

“Those were sent to Boyd?” Andrew asks.

“Yeah,” Aaron says, keeping his voice low. He can't hear Randy and Matt talking, but he can't be sure if they'll be able to hear him. He doesn't want them to. “Nothing has been dropped at his apartment yet, at least.”

“Are you going to tell him?” Andrew asks. Aaron can hear the spark of a lighter and he figures Andrew must be smoking.

“Would be shitty if I didn't,” Aaron points out. “He deserves to know the threat he's facing, don't you think?”

Andrew doesn't respond to that. Instead, he says, “Be careful.”

Aaron snorts. “No shit. I'll be in Denver next weekend. Boyd has a fight.”

“We will be in Houston for a game,” Andrew says. “I am serious. Be careful. This is Riko we are dealing with. From what little Kevin and Neil have let slip, he is not to be trifled with.”

“I got it,” Aaron says flatly. “Shoot first, ask questions later?” Andrew snorts. “I won't make any promises, but I'm not an idiot.”

“I know,” Andrew says quietly. After a moment, Aaron hears his phone beep. When he looks at it, he realizes Andrew has hung up on him. He rolls his eyes. He spends the next few minutes taking pictures of all the letters and sending them to Renee to have them on record.

* * *

Things are mostly mundane for the week that follows. Matt gets a couple more letters at the office his mom works at, but that's about it. Aaron hates how Matt is a morning person and how he seems to always be so fucking happy and full of energy. Aaron just follows him around most of the time, keeping his eyes on everyone that interacts with Matt. Even though he's pretty sure Riko's the one behind the letters and phone calls, anyone could be helping him or bought out by him, so Aaron isn't taking any chances.

Two days before they're set to fly out to Denver, Matt convinces Aaron to fight with him. They aren't at the gym where Matt works out with Day and Josten. They're below the arena where Matt fights when he's in the city. It's really, really nice. Aaron finally agrees - mostly because he'd seen the digital locks on all the doors to get down here. He didn't want to be distracted like that and leave Matt open to an attack of some sort.

They spend a while warming up together before they stop to tape up their fists. They climb into the ring and Matt grins at him. He's already insisted on keeping the fight light, nothing too technical from him and no brutal hits. Aaron has agreed, but he also reserved the right to throw Matt since Matt is so much taller. Matt has some kind of bass-heavy, fast-paced EDM playing from a speaker nearby, which gives them good background music while they circle each other.

Aaron gets bored of that quickly. It's not his style. He doesn't need to see the way Matt moves first - he just reacts. So he darts forward and lays three quick punches to Matt's chest and shoulders, only barely remembering to pull them at the last moment and keep them light. It's a strange exercise in control that he isn't accustomed to. He's used to beating the shit out of a bag or fighting with Renee - and she never goes easy on him.

Matt tosses a kick up toward Aaron's ribs that's slow. Aaron ducks under his leg and grabs the underside of his calf, shoving him back. On less experienced people, it knocks them wholly off their feet. Matt barely manages to keep his balance, but he follows Aaron's little trick up with a punch to Aaron's upper arm. They'd agreed to avoid the face, but even still, Aaron has a brand-new mouthguard he'd picked up just for this, since his usual one is back at his own apartment. He hates the plastic-y taste, but he doesn't say anything about it, just tosses out a quick kick to Matt’s thigh to knock him off guard before darting inside his reach and slamming his fist into his gut. It works to knock him back a step - but only a step.

Matt retaliates with a meaner punch to Aaron's chest and a faster kick to his side. Aaron misses the punch, but he stops the kick, grabbing Matt's leg and spinning quickly. Matt shouts a little as he hits the mat hard. Aaron grins as he offers Matt a hand up.

“How much do you weigh?” Matt asks as Aaron hauls him to his feet.

“Why?” Aaron asks with narrowed eyes.

“Because you should do this shit and I'm trying to figure out what weight class you'd be in.” Matt grins as he shakes out his arms and bounces a bit. “You're fucking fast.”

“You haven't seen Andrew fight, have you?” Aaron asks. Matt shakes his head. “Compared to him or Renee, this is nothing. You don't fucking walk away from them.”

“Jesus,” Matt mutters. “And what, you spar with them?” Aaron nods. “No damn wonder you're as good as you are then.” He smirks. “I'm still better.”

“Let's see you with a fucking sniper rifle and a target 400 yards away with a shitty scope.” Matt raises an eyebrow. “Don't worry, I've got a better one now.” Aaron grins and waves his hand. “We gonna do this or what?”

They continue their little sparring match for a while, and it's made difficult for Aaron because he isn't used to the way Matt fights - it isn't the rough and dirty street fighting he's used to - and because he's pulling all his punches. He tosses Matt two more times, but Matt gets him down three times to compensate.

“All right,” Matt says, wiping his arm over his forehead. Both are sweaty, so Aaron doesn't know why he bothers, but he doesn't say anything. Aaron uses the hem of his shirt to wipe his face. “Holy fuck, is that a scar from a bullet?”

Aaron freezes. He looks down at his stomach, then he nods slowly. “Yeah?”

Matt gapes at him for a moment. “When did that happen?”

“That one?” Aaron asks. “Uh, like, eight months ago? Hollow point. Shredded part of my liver. Took fucking months to recover.”

“That - that one?” Matt nearly shouts. “How many times have you been shot, dude?”

“Three,” Aaron answers simply. He turns his back on Matt and climbs out of the ring. He turns to face him again and points to his arm. “Here,” he points to his thigh, “and here. The gut shot was the worst. I pissed blood for a week.”

“Does it - does it hurt?” Matt asks. He grimaces. “I mean -”

“No, it feels like rainbows and sunshine.” Aaron rolls his eyes as he walks over to a bench and grabs a towel. “Of course it fucking hurts, jackass. I could shoot you, then you'll know what it feels like.” Matt laughs as he jumps down from the mat. “I wasn't joking.”

“No, but you said your clients never get hurt while you're protecting them, so you won't do it,” Matt points out. He grabs a bottle of Gatorade from his bag and tosses one to Aaron.

“Damn, guess I'll just have to wait, then.” Aaron takes a long drink. “Are there showers here?”

“Yeah, come on.” Matt turns off the speaker and crams it in his bag first. He tosses the strap over his bare shoulder and walks off. Aaron grabs his bag and follows.

They wind up in a locker room-type area. Matt pushes open a door to reveal a set of showers that aren't blocked off at all. Aaron stops. “You go ahead. I'll wait.”

“Why?” Matt asks, looking over his shoulder as he drops his bag nearby.

Aaron debates how he should answer. “You saw one scar. You don't get the rest.” He turns and walks out before Matt can question him further. He sits on yet another bench and dicks around on his phone while he waits for Matt to finish. He isn't sure what he should do about leaving Matt alone…

When Matt comes out of the room a few minutes later, Aaron stands. He puts the gun, still in its holster, in his hand. “Safety is on.” He points to the button near the trigger. “Turn that off, point, and shoot. It doesn't have to be accurate to hurt someone, not this close.”

Matt looks bewildered. “Why do I need this?”

“Because I won't be in here watching you,” Aaron points out. “You shouldn't have a problem down here, but I won't take chances.” Matt doesn't argue, so Aaron grabs his bag and heads into the showers. He makes it quick, not wasting any time. He's done inside of five minutes, and dressed and back in the other room inside of ten.

“Wanna get something to eat?” Matt asks as he surrenders Aaron's gun. Aaron nods. “Anything in particular?”

“Something spicy,” Aaron says with a shrug. They head out after Aaron gets his boots back on.

* * *

 

Aaron doesn't enjoy flying. Andrew hates it and adamantly refuses whenever he possibly can. Aaron doesn't, since flying is faster and sometimes cheaper, but that doesn't mean he likes it. He has to surrender his weapons, which makes him feel a little naked. He has all the proper authority to at least pack them in his luggage, but he always feels better once he can have them within arms reach again. He doesn't like the lack of security in airports, for all that they're supposedly safe places. He dislikes the crowds and cramped airplane seats where he inevitably ends up next to an older woman that reminds him entirely too much of his mother.

Matt surprises him, though. Or, at least, Randy does. Aaron isn't sure who he should thank. The tickets are for first class - which is fucking nice. So despite dealing with the crowds at O’Hare and having three different people recognize Matt and come up to ask for autographs - which really puts Aaron on edge, honestly - by the time he's on the plane, he's feeling a bit better. He would rather have the window seat, but he won't leave Matt exposed to all the passing people, so he takes the aisle instead.

“Dude, get a drink or something. You're so tense.”

Aaron gives him a flat look. “I don't like flying.”

“Oh, heights?” Matt asks.

“No, the people.” Aaron grimaces as a woman shoves past him on her way to coach. “And I don't have my gun.”

“Oh.” Matt doesn't say anything else for a while. He plays on his phone until the stewardess makes everyone turn their phones off. “So, after we land, we're heading to the hotel first. The fight isn't until eight tonight. We’ll have some time to kill.”

“I want to check out the place before the crowds get there,” Aaron says. “Can you make that happen?”

“Shouldn't be a problem,” Matt says with a shrug. “Mom took an earlier flight, so I'll call and ask her when we land.” Aaron nods to that. “So why do you do this job anyway?”

“Pay is decent,” Aaron says with a shrug.

“And?” Matt asks. “There's got to be more to it than that.”

“Not really,” Aaron says. “Why do you care?”

“Curiosity?” Matt shrugs. “I usually know people at least a little better after being around them for a week, even without being near them literally twenty-four-seven. I know, like, your name. That's it.”

“There's a reason for that,” Aaron says flatly. “We aren't friends. You are my client. I'm here to protect you. Nothing more.”

“Okay, but like, why can't we be friends?” Matt asks. “You're really chill. I thought I'd go crazy having someone watch me all the time, but I'm not.”

“I know how to stay out of the way,” Aaron mutters. He sighs. The plane takes off then, so he doesn't say anything for awhile.

Once they're leveled out and in the air, he twists a little to look at Matt. “Okay, you want the tragic backstory? You can have it. My mother beat the ever-loving shit out of me while I was growing up. I didn't know I had a twin brother until I was fifteen. Then some cop that knew Andrew thought I was him and the cat was out of the bag. My uncle got all over my mom's case about it. Eventually, I got to go see Andrew. He was in juvy at the time. They let him out early for good behavior and he came to live with us and Mom adopted him. He'd been in foster care his whole life. Anyway. He saw her beating me, threatened her not to do it, she kept on, then he killed her for it. Made it look like an accident. Car wreck. Whatever.

“We lived with our cousin Nicky after that. We worked at a nightclub together. Nicky was a bartender, Andrew and I were busboys, since technically we were too young to work there in the first place. One night, Nicky got jumped by four guys. Andrew and I beat the shit out of them and we got locked up. They put Andrew on some fucked up antipsychotic kind of drugs, and I got let off with probation. Fast forward to a year later. Fucking Drake, one of Andrew's old foster brothers, found us. He grabbed Andrew behind the club one night while he was on a smoke break. I went out looking for him and found that son of a bitch raping Andrew. I killed him. Caved in his skull. I was facing down a lot of jail time, but I wound up with a decent lawyer and Andrew agreed to spill every fucking detail about his past to get me off. I was found not-guilty, since I'd been defending him. It was obvious, but whatever.

“Wymack found us after that. He managed to get Andrew a damn good therapist. When his probation for the drugs was up, Wymack put him through rehab and everything. All we had to do was work for him. We agreed. So here we are. Andrew and I never would have gotten anywhere in life without Wymack. Nicky went back to Germany last year. Otherwise it's us and Renee and some others. We're all fucked up. More mercenaries than a real security firm. But we're good at what we do. All of us.”

“Fuck,” Matt says softly. “I - I'm sorry.”

“Don't be,” Aaron mutters. “It happened, it's over with, we're fine now.”

Matt twists his arm out so Aaron can clearly see the old, faded scars from track marks in his arms. He'd seen them before, of course, but he hadn't commented. “My dad got me hooked on a lot of drugs when I was younger. Heroin was the worst. I was in and out of rehab for a minute. Then my mom stepped in and she got be into MMA. I've been clean for almost ten years now, but I still go to NA meetings. Just. You know. I might end up going to one while you're around. So.”

“It's cool,” Aaron says with a shrug. “I've been to my fair share. Mom got me hooked on pills. Andrew forced me through a white trash version of rehab. He locked me in the bathroom for three days and then threatened all my dealers.” Aaron shrugs. “It worked, I guess. Getting shot this last time didn't do me any favors, though.”

“There's meetings every Tuesday at the rec center near my apartment,” Matt says quietly. He scratches absently at his elbow for a moment. “We can go when we get back to Chicago.”

“If you want,” Aaron says with a shrug. “I go where you go.”

“I mean…” Matt hesitates. “Do you want to? You said…”

“I know what I said, but I don't have to,” Aaron says with a shrug. Matt gets quiet after that. Aaron grabs the book he brought along with him and he reads for the remainder of the flight.

As soon as they land, he herds Matt out to the baggage carousel. They grab their bags as soon as they spot them and head outside. There's a car waiting for them. In the backseat, Aaron unloads his weapons and puts them back where they belong - on him. He feels so much better with his gun on his thigh.

They get to the hotel first, and Aaron does the same security checks there as he does with Matt's apartment. Matt doesn't argue. After they've dropped off their bags and Matt's called Randy, she comes and picks them up and takes them to the arena where Matt will fight in a few hours. Matt naps on a couch in the lounge while Aaron does his rounds. He talks to the head of security and discusses where they should put extra people. Aaron bums around the lounge while Randy finishes her meeting and Matt continues to nap.

Once Randy is done, she wakes up Matt and the three of them go out to eat a carb-heavy dinner for Matt. Where he'd been mostly silent since Aaron's spiel on the plane, he's perked up after his nap and the food. They go back to the hotel so Matt can grab his stuff, and then it's back to the arena.

Aaron is on high alert the entire night. He sticks close to Matt for the most part, but he also stays out of the way, sticking to the back of the room or standing on the side with Randy while they watch Matt's fight. He wins.

When Matt gets back to the lounge, he tells Randy he probably has a sprained wrist and ankle. They wind up taking a trip to the ER after Matt has showered and rinsed all the blood out of his mouth and had a little something to eat. While they're waiting in the ER, Matt falls asleep again. Aaron stands off to the side, watching everyone. Finally, Matt is called back and Aaron goes back with them. After another long-ass wait, Matt gets x-rays done and finally learns his wrist is broken - just one of the small bones, and it's a hairline fracture - but his ankle is only sprained. Matt's given a brace for his wrist and told to rest, elevate, and ice his ankle.

They finally head back to the hotel, and Aaron is glad they have an afternoon flight tomorrow. He makes sure Matt ices his ankle while he showers, then he secures the room as well as he can and passes out in his own bed. He's fucking exhausted. Even so, his sleep is restless and uneasy.

Randy goes with them on the flight home. She sits in the row in front of them. Matt talks to her about his next fight and how he'll have to either scratch or reschedule. Randy promises to reschedule it for him. Aaron dozes once they get in the air, content that no one is going to get to Matt on the plane. Back in Chicago, he's on high-alert again.

It's a good thing, too. Matt's apartment has been trashed. He gets a sick feeling in his stomach when he first opens the door, and he has to stop and take a moment before he can go back out to see Matt. Matt's bedroom is the worst - with actual blood all over his bed. Aaron gets back out to Matt and slams the door behind himself.

“What's wrong?” Matt asks instantly.

“They trashed your apartment,” Aaron says. “It's bad. I'm calling the cops. Call your mom. You can't stay here right now.” Matt nods and grabs his phone to call Randy while Aaron calls the police.

Randy shows up and helps Aaron deal with the police. She goes into the apartment when Aaron refuses to leave Matt alone. The long ass day gets even longer as Aaron, Matt, and Randy deal with police reports and questions and everything else. Aaron also calls Wymack.

Finally, Aaron, Matt, and Randy head over to Randy's apartment. Aaron has his duffel of clothes and Randy packed a bag for Matt - neither of them wanted him to go in his apartment and see the mess. Randy's apartment only has two bedrooms. Aaron drops his bag by the couch and sits down. He's busy reading through a long email from Renee.

“Aaron?” Matt asks as he sits down beside him.

“Sorry, what?” Aaron asks, clicking off the screen and looking at Matt.

“Who do you think is doing this?”

Aaron sighs and rubs his forehead. “Riko Moriyama.”

“What?” Matt looks confused. “But...why? That doesn't make any sense.”

“Because you're friends with Josten and Day and Riko is pissed about it, that's why.” Aaron crosses his arms over his chest. “There's a lot going on with the whole thing involving Kevin and Neil and Riko. I don't know the whole story, and what I do know doesn't add up. Basically, Riko wants to isolate Kevin and Neil and drive everyone away from them so they'll have to go back to him.”

“That's so childish,” Matt says, making a sour face at the notion. “Why does he care so much?”

“I couldn't say,” Aaron shrugs. “But he's dangerous. He has a lot of money and the Moriyama family isn't one one to fuck around with. Randy called your maid service and told them what happened, so they'll clean up the place tomorrow. I'll go change the locks again, and then we’ll talk to your building manager about adding some cameras to that floor. You need a security system, too. It will help deter people, at least. A lot of people can pick locks. Not nearly as many people can deactivate security systems without triggering a silent alarm.”

“Okay,” Matt says simply. He runs a hand through his hair. “Do you think Riko will really send someone to hurt me?”

“It's possible,” Aaron says. “But I won't let you get hurt. It's my job to keep you safe. Just keep that in mind.” Matt nods, but Aaron can still see apprehension in the tightness if his shoulders and the curve of his lips. “Matt.” Matt looks over at him. “I've got this.”

“Yeah,” Matt says quietly. “Yeah…”

* * *

 

Aaron heads over to Matt's apartment the next day, after the maid service has been by and scrubbed everything clean, and he changes the locks on the door himself before supervising the security company as they install the top-of-the-line system Matt ordered that morning. Matt stayed with Randy, but Aaron is still paranoid. He can't shake off the feeling. As soon as the guy explains how to work the system and change the code, Aaron makes them all leave. He changes the code himself and then heads back over to Randy’s apartment to collect Matt.

That night isn't pleasant. Aaron is asleep, having passed the fuck out relatively early after not sleeping for shit the last two nights. But he bolts awake when he hears a shout from Matt. In half a second, he rolls out of the bed and snatches up his gun from the bedside table. He doesn't bother to pull on a shirt - it's a waste of time. He runs across the apartment to Matt's room and barges into his room without knocking.

Matt is sitting up in his bed, the sheets tangled around him. His eyes widen when he sees Aaron. “Wh -”

“Why did you shout?” Aaron demands, cutting him off. He'd looked through the apartment as he'd run, and glanced at the security panel on the wall by the door, but everything looked okay.

“Oh.” Matt scrubs his hands down his face. “Fucking nightmare. I'm sorry.”

Aaron takes a deep breath and clicks on the safety on his gun. Matt jerks his head up to look at him at the sound. Aaron only shrugs. He feels twitchy and anxious. He turns around to leave.

“Wait?” Matt asks. Aaron freezes and looks over his shoulder at Matt. “You - uh...got in here really quick. Thanks, I guess.”

“Go the fuck back to sleep or something,” Aaron sighs. He heads back to the guest room and instantly grabs a shirt. He puts his gun back in its holster and leaves it by the bed. He knows he won't sleep right away, not now, so he grabs the book he never finished and he props himself up in the bed to read it.

A knock on the bedroom door a few minutes later has him all tensed up again. He snaps out, “What?” The door opens slowly. Matt, of course, is the one on the other side. He's pulled on a shirt and a pair of loose cotton pants as well.

“Can't sleep, so I thought I'd ask if you wanted a drink. I saw the light under the door.”

Aaron considers for a moment, nods, and tucks the receipt he's using as a bookmark between the pages before snapping the book closed. He rubs at his eyes and frowns. They're itchy and irritated. “Gimme a second.” Matt nods and heads back out to the living room while Aaron climbs out of the bed. He goes into the bathroom and spends a moment peeling the contacts out of his eyes. He's supposed to be able to sleep in these without any problems, but this pair is only a week old and they're already annoying. He won't bother anymore.

He goes to the living room and Matt does a bit of a double-take at him. Aaron just scowls and goes straight for the kitchen and Matt's healthy liquor cabinet. He finds the bottle of pricey, top-shelf whiskey he'd spotted the other day and pours himself a small glass. Hopefully it will be enough to settle him just enough for him to get back to sleep.

“I didn't realize you wore glasses,” Matt says as Aaron sits in the chair across from the couch.

“I wear contacts,” Aaron says bluntly. “They're irritating.”

“So why not just wear glasses, then?” Matt asks.

Aaron rolls his eyes. “They tend to fall off and break during fights. And get smudged or scratched or whatever else. Contacts are more convenient for what I do.”

“I see your point,” Matt says as he scratches as his neck. He sighs and takes a sip of his drink. “Well, since you're up too, I can go ahead and talk to you. Remmy, that's my PR lady, said people are noticing you being around all the time. I have to go watch Jeremy's fight this Thursday. Normally I take a date for these things, but I didn't wanna do anything without asking you first. Remmy...doesn't want to make it known that I have a fucking bodyguard failing me everywhere.”

“Sorry I'm such an inconvenience, Boyd,” Aaron mutters. He takes another sip.

“That's not what I meant,” Matt snaps. “It looks bad on me, number one, since I should be able to protect my damn self, and number two, how do I explain why I need a bodyguard without calling Riko out, huh?”

Aaron shrugs. “Tell your PR lady to figure it out. I don't care.”

“Fine,” Matt mutters. “What about the thing with the date?”

“Anyone you know personally?” Aaron asks.  
Matt shrugs and shakes his head. “No, not usually. It's a one-night type deal, most of the time. Dinner, the fight, maybe drinks at a bar if they're nice or something.”

“Wouldn't recommend it,” Aaron says simply. “I really doubt you want anyone you don't know getting that close to you, even for just a night. Not after the way your apartment looked…”

“Okay,” Matt says simply. “I'll tell Remmy. She can figure something out.”

Aaron finishes his drink and heads to bed shortly after that. Sleep is still elusive, sadly, but Aaron expected it would be. The next day is more of the same, mostly. He goes to the gym with Matt, works out with Andrew in silence, follows Matt around the city, and generally keeps quiet and out of the way.

Until they get to the office where Remmy works. Because Aaron wasn't really paying attention, but both she and Matt are staring at him. “What?”

“There's a gossip magazine that's already run an article about the two of you hooking up,” Remmy says. “So rather than worry about Matt having a proper date for tomorrow night, we can just dress you up and -”

“No,” Aaron says.

“Why not?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest. “Doing it this way solves a lot of problems for us, okay? It's not like I'm asking you to do anything different other than change clothes for a night. The rumors can fly, but they'll be more positive this way, less suspicious. And aside from putting more pressure on you, it takes some off, because once people figure out what your purpose is, they mostly leave you alone. Right now, no one knows who you are or why you're around, and they're foaming at the mouth to ask.”

“What about my gun, then?” Aaron asks. “It won't exactly blend in with whatever else you expect me to wear.” He gestures to the black cargo pants that almost camouflage the gun and its holster along his thigh.

“Shoulder holsters are still a thing, aren't they?” she asks. “I mean, I watch old noir films, but like…they exist, right?” Aaron nods reluctantly. “Problem solved then. You can wear a jacket and a shoulder holster.” She smiles brightly. “Please?”

“Whatever,” Aaron says. He flicks his fingers at her. “As long as I don't have to do anything else and no one asks me any questions.” He looks over at Matt. “There's a really good chance Riko already knows you've hired me, but if not, this is the prime opportunity to throw him off. If he thinks you're vulnerable, he might get ballsy and try something. It will let us take him down, at least.” Matt nods.

“There is...one more thing,” Remmy says slowly. Aaron rolls his eyes as he turns to look at her. “After the fight, there's a sort of after party. Matt absolutely has to go. He needs the exposure. Building up press for future fights during exy season is hard enough, so I have to take advantage of every chance I get.”

Matt blinks at her. “Rem, why didn't you say so? I can just invite Neil and Kevin.” He grins. “The press is always following Neil around and waiting for him to open his mouth. He’s bound to say something interesting, and if I can get him to say something positive about mine and Jeremy’s fight, then it will look good.”

Remmy grins and shakes Matt by the shoulders. “You are not a meathead. I take back every mean thing I've ever said.”

“Hey!” Matt squawks. Remmy laughs as he takes a playful swipe at her. “You are so fucking lucky you're my cousin. I should fire you for that.” Matt sniffs and turns his nose up at her.

Remmy laughs and hugs him around his neck. “Oh, don't be such a baby. You kind of are a meathead.” She taps his temple. “You get beat up for a living, after all.” She presses a bright orange kiss to his cheek. “Go on! Get out! I need to call Josten’s publicist and clear all of this with him. Poor Richard. He's going to hate me.” She giggles delightedly at the prospect. “Oh! Call Allison! She can get Aaron something to wear on such short notice.”

“Yep, on it.” Matt shoves his way up out of his chair. He and Aaron leave the room and stop in a sort of waiting area that looks like it should have a receptionist but doesn't. Matt looks at him. “Going to see Allison is its own special brand of torture.” He grins. “But don't worry, you'll look good.”

“Who is she?” Aaron asks skeptically.

“My ex girlfriend, Dan? Her current girlfriend.” Matt grins. “Allison Reynolds. You know, all those Reynolds Resorts?” Aaron nods slowly. He's heard of them. “Allison is their daughter. She has her own fashion line. She pretty much dresses me for literally everything.”

“As long as it's black,” Aaron mutters. “Let's get this over with, I guess.” He really hopes this is another of those things he won't have to pay for. If it is, he can manage, he would just prefer not to.

* * *

 

As Matt had said, going to see Allison wound up as its own special brand of torture. Aaron even made the comment to her that the next time he needed info from someone, he was just going to make them talk to her. She'd only grinned fiercely and told him to send them. She wasn't terrible herself, really, she just talked - a lot - and having to try on so many clothes and get fitted for not one but three different outfits was annoying. He has to admit that he did look really good, though.

They pick up Aaron's new clothes from Allison on Wednesday, and Aaron meets Dan as well that time. He has to admit to a grudging respect for her. She's one of the assistant coaches for the Foxes, and Aaron has to wonder how in the hell he keeps running into so many of the team. Turns out, though, that Dan is really good friends with Renee. That alone goes a long way towards warming Aaron to her.

When Thursday rolls around, Aaron goes out and gets a brand new shoulder holster for his gun. He dislikes it, but he'll deal with it for the night. The boots Allison conned Matt into buying to go with Aaron's jeans and blazer are tall enough for him to fit one of his knives inside. They get ready for the night separately, but Aaron struggles with the fucking shoulder holster. It's twisted and he can't seem to get it right.

“Matt?” He knocks on Matt's bedroom door.

It opens a moment later. “What's up?” Matt is in a pair of dark-wash jeans (bootcut for him, but Allison had insisted Aaron wear skinny jeans) and a dark green button down shirt that flatters both his skin tone and his build. Aaron tries not to stare - he really does - but he isn't sure he succeeds.

“Fix it.” He turns around and points at his shoulder where the strap is twisted. He feels Matt's fingers brush his shoulder, and then Matt pats him a couple times. “Thanks,” Aaron mutters, rolling his shoulders. It feels much better now.

“We gotta leave in a few,” Matt says. “You about ready?”

Aaron nods. “Just need a couple minutes.” He heads back to his own room and sits down to pull on the hobnail boots. He has to admit that he really likes them - they're thick-soled and heavy and could potentially do a lot of damage. He tucks his gun into the holster by his side and grabs the black blazer. He tugs it on and looks in the mirror for a moment. If he looks closely, he can see where the gun is, but he doubts many people will notice. It's certainly not as noticeable as it would be if it was on his thigh, anyway.

He heads out into the living room a moment later. Matt is already waiting for him, his own blazer tossed over his arm. “Ready?” Aaron nods. “Cool. Let's go, then.” Matt grins at him and heads to the door. Aaron follows, sighing softly, and wishing this night could be over with already.

They take a cab to the arena tonight and arrive with more than enough time to spare. Matt heads down below to talk to Jeremy for a moment. Most of their conversation is light teasing and jokes with each other. Aaron isn't paying them much attention. When he isn't indirectly staring at Matt's ass - because, honestly, he needs to strangle Allison for those fucking jeans, he really does - he's keeping an eye on everyone around them. No one seems overtly suspicious, but that doesn't settle the tingle of apprehension that's been bubbling in his stomach.

Finally, they head back up to the main area and take their seats. Aaron hates having so many people at his back. There's little he can do about it, though. His saving grace is that the fight is short, since it isn't a title match. Jeremy wins overall, and he gives Matt a friendly wave as he heads out. Matt laughs beside Aaron and shouts a playful, good-natured insult in return.

Aaron has Matt wait until most of the stadium empties. They get their cab and head to the club where the after party is set to kick off. There are only a couple of people with cameras so far, but Aaron is willing to bet that the number will increase once Neil and Kevin arrive. When Jeremy gets to the club, Matt sits with him and they talk and drink for a bit. Jeremy finally gets up and heads to the dance floor after finishing his drink.

Matt turns to look at Aaron. “I don't suppose I can convince you to dance with me, can I?” He grins. He's already taken his blazer off and left it folded over the back of the chair he's in. His sleeves are rolled up his arms, too.

Aaron wants to say yes. “I can't,” he says instead. Matt has been impossibly easy to get along with for the last two weeks. He listens and doesn't argue, he doesn't think he knows better than Aaron just because he would be physically capable of defending himself, and he's genuinely nice. In Aaron's experience, most people are not. Matt is different.

“Can't dance?” Matt asks with a teasing grin. “It's not hard.”

“No, moron,” Aaron says, rolling his eyes. “I can't get out there with you. Crowds are dangerous. Anyone could sneak up on you. I also can't take off the blazer without everyone seeing that I have a gun on me. Not a good idea.”

Matt frowns. “Oh.” He scratches at the inside of his arm for a moment. “So, does that mean I shouldn't go dance, either?”

Aaron shrugs. “I would prefer it if you didn't, that way I can keep an eye on you, but I won't stop you.” He picks up the drink he's been nursing since he arrived and takes another small sip. “I may be dressed up like your date tonight, but I'm still just your bodyguard.”

“You can't be both?” Matt asks.

That throws Aaron for a loop. He can't quite stop his eyes from widening as he stares at Matt. What could someone like Matt possibly see in someone like him? It just doesn't make any sense. He can't figure out if Matt is joking or not, especially when Matt offers him a small little half-smile that only tugs up one side of his lips. If Matt is joking…

“I thought when you agreed to doing this, you were agreeing to the date as well,” Matt says with a broad shrug. “It was Remmy’s idea, I know, but I have been trying to figure out a way to turn going out for dinner into an actual date all week.” He grins at that and laughs. Aaron hopes he's laughing at himself and not at Aaron's bewildered expression. “You don't have to look so surprised about it.”

“How should I look?” Aaron snaps defensively. “I've just been doing my job, nothing more. Why - why would you even want to try to ask me on a date?” He crosses his arms over his chest. He needs to protect himself right now. It's the only thing he can think of.

“Because you seem really cool, and I want to get to know you better?” Matt says, flopping one hand in the air before settling it back on his thigh. “Not many people can deal with what I do, but you haven't been phased in the slightest. Not to mention you probably see worse stuff than someone getting the shit beat out of them on a regular basis.” He laughs again and runs his hand over his carefully spiked hair.

“How do you know you can deal with what I do?” Aaron asks, letting a frown tug at his mouth. He grips his glass a little harder and takes another sip. “It's not always as easy as it has been with you so far.”

“I don't know yet,” Matt says with a shrug. “But I'd be willing to find out.” He downs a shot. “Are you?”

Aaron is flabbergasted. How did tonight go from simply changing his clothes to Matt suggesting an actual date? Even as he thinks back over the last two weeks and the night's events, he can't come up with answer. He downs the last of his drink as he tries to figure out an answer to Matt's question. He isn't sure, to be honest. Matt is one of the few people he doesn't mind being around - which is novel in and of itself - and while Wymack may have a basically non-existent policy on dating clients, Aaron isn't sure it's a good idea.

Before he has to answer, Neil, Kevin, and Andrew arrive. Matt just gives Aaron a small smile and he gets up to go greet them. Aaron keeps his eye on Matt, but he stays where he is. Andrew cocks an eyebrow at him, and Aaron subtly shakes his head. There haven't been any problems so far. They all head off to the bar to get a round of drinks, but Aaron keeps his seat. When they come over to the table, Andrew motions for Aaron to follow, so he ends up trailing after Andrew to a corner not far away. They can both still see Kevin and Matt easily, though.

“Anything since the break in?” Andrew asks. Aaron shakes his head. “Kevin has been getting phone calls lately. Someone threw a milkshake at him the other day, but she was just pissed off about Kevin not playing for the Ravens anymore.” Andrew rolls his eyes.

“I've told Matt to let me know when he starts getting shit on his phone, but I'll give him a heads up.” Aaron rolls his shoulders again, uncomfortable with the shoulder holster. He watches Jeremy come over to the table and Neil open his big mouth - a smirk on his face. Aaron rolls his eyes, knowing Neil’s penchant for running off at the mouth at every given opportunity. “You might want to go do damage control.” Andrew huffs, but they head over to the table anyway.

Matt hands Aaron a drink when he gets to the table, which is a surprise, but Aaron takes it anyway. He sips at it and frowns. It doesn't taste quite right. He tugs Matt over to the side, away from some of the noise. “Who gave you this?”

“The bartender?” Matt says - like it's a question. “Why? Is it not right? I'll make him do it again.”

“Give me yours,” Aaron demands. Matt surrenders his drink quickly. Aaron takes a sip. He gets the same slightly-off taste. “Fuck.”

“What is it? What's wrong?” Matt tries to take the glass back, but Aaron snatches it out of his reach.

“How much of this did you drink?”

“None yet,” Matt says, his eyebrows wrinkled. “Seriously, what is going on?”

“They're drugged,” Aaron mutters lowly. He grabs his phone and sends Andrew a quick text. He watches Andrew check his phone and then jerk his head up to look at Aaron. He takes Kevin's drink away from him, and Neil's too.

“Holy shit,” Matt says quietly. “How can you even tell?”

“It didn't taste right,” Aaron mumbles. “We need to leave. Now.”

“Yeah, yeah okay.” Matt frowns at him. “You okay?”

“No,” Aaron says honestly. He feels...dizzy. A little. Almost like he's drunk, which shouldn't be possible after a single drink over the whole forty-five minutes they've been there. He holds out the glasses, and Matt takes them. Matt upends them straight on the floor and puts the glasses on a nearby table. Aaron blinks a few times and takes a few steps forward, aiming for their table and Andrew. Matt stays right at his side, at least.

It takes longer than it should - maybe? it's hard to tell, honestly - for Aaron to make it to the table. “We're leaving,” he says to Andrew.

“Someone spiked our drinks,” Matt says quietly to Neil. “Don't let it get out.” Neil nods. Aaron sees three of him and wants to groan. One is too damn many as it is. He thinks he manages to stay quiet. When Neil laughs at him, he guesses he didn't. He rubs at his mouth uncomfortably. “I'll get us an Uber. Come on, let's go.”

“Be careful,” Andrew says flatly. Aaron nods, but immediately regrets that. He grabs his head. It feels like he's concussed or something. This is so fucked. Andrew looks at Matt and says something that doesn't make any sense. Aaron slides his hand to his mouth to make sure he doesn't say anything this time. He watches Matt nod and say something back, and then Matt has a hand around his shoulder and is leading him outside.

Aaron ends up leaning into Matt's side while they wait. His balance and coordination is shot to shit. He can't even really look around without everything blurring together. A car pulls up to the curb. Aaron watches as the back door opens. He tenses, but there's little else he can do.

Someone jumps out of the front as two more people hop out of the back. Aaron lurches forward when one guy grabs his arm and yanks him close to the car. He can't even get his hand to move to his gun. Matt shouts behind him. Aaron manages to turn his head and watch as Matt fights off two people at once, but he can't get to Aaron. He's dragged into the back of the car and the others jump in a moment later as it speeds away.

* * *

 

Matt shouts after the SUV as it drives off - with Aaron. He puts one hand to his bleeding lip and curses. A second later, he runs back inside the club. The moment Andrew spots him, he's on his feet. Matt jogs around a group of people to reach the table.

“Some guys in a black SUV just grabbed Aaron,” Matt says, keeping his voice pitched low enough not to carry. He's painfully aware of a lot of people staring at him.

Andrew mutters a curse and grabs his phone. A second later, he has it to his ear. “A group of men just grabbed Aaron from outside the club we're at,” Andrew says. “I'm bringing Kevin and Matt to you.”

“Like hell!” Matt shouts. “I'm coming with you.”

“You will not,” Andrew says, eyes narrowed dangerously. “This is not a game, Boyd.”

“Don't you think I know that?” Matt says, stepping even closer to Andrew.

“We're on the way,” Andrew says to the phone before hitting the end button and sliding it back into his pocket. He turns and looks at Neil and Kevin, who are both standing already. “Let's go. Now.” Neil nods, and he and Kevin come around the edge of the table. Andrew leads the way through the press of people to the exit.

A moment later, Matt finds himself in the backseat of a sleek black Maserati next to Neil. Kevin is in the front beside Andrew. Andrew speeds out into traffic and weaves his way between cars. Matt wipes at his split lip again, then smears the blood over his jeans.

“Did you get the licence plate number?” Andrew asks.

“Um.” Matt hesitates. “It started with AKX but I didn't see the other half. It was a Tahoe.”

“Renee should be able to work with that,” Andrew mutters. He's on the phone again a moment later, relaying that information. He offers neither a greeting nor a goodbye. “Did you get a good look at any of them?”

“Three men, one about my height but skinny, another maybe five ten? The first guy was white, the second Asian. The third guy didn't really get out of the car. He just sort of grabbed Aaron and then they were all gone. I didn't get a look at him. Too busy fighting off the other two.”

“Hair color, eye color, distinguishing marks?”

“Both had dark hair,” Matt says. He licks his lip over the cut. “The white guy had a mole or something by his mouth. I think the Asian dude had tattoos on his hands? I can't be sure.”

Andrew doesn't say anything to that. They spend the next several minutes in tense silence while Andrew drives like a maniac. Matt's surprised they don't have cops after them. Before too much longer, they wind up in the warehouse district and they stop for a moment in front of one of the buildings. A moment later, a wide garage opens and Andrew drives inside. It closes behind them just as Andrew shuts off the car. He's out of it half a second later and already stalking across the open area. Matt, Neil, and Kevin scramble after him.

They wind up in a wide, well-lit room with a few desks and computers shoved off to one side, a couch and entertainment center in another section, and a lot of empty space. A man Matt doesn't know crosses the room to greet them.

“I'm David Wymack,” he says gruffly. “Let's go.” He turns and leads them to a door along one wall. The next room is much smaller than the first, but it isn't a small room. Most of it is filled with a huge desk and several computers and monitors. A woman with white blonde hair that's dyed lots of pastel colors around the ends looks up at them with a sweet smile. “That's Renee.”

“Andrew, I've found the car you mentioned, and I hacked the traffic cameras. It looks like they're headed west out of the city.”

“I'm going,” Andrew says flatly. “Keep them safe.” Renee nods once, and he turns on his heel to march out of the room. Matt waits a beat, then jogs after him. He doesn't stop when Wymack shouts after him. He just slides into Andrew's car a second after Andrew does.

“Get out,” Andrew snaps viciously.

“No,” Matt bites right back. “Aaron was taken because of me. I'm going with you to get him back. Just shut up and drive. You're wasting time.”

Andrew smacks one hand against the steering wheel, but he does go ahead and back out of the warehouse. Matt clicks his seatbelt into place as Andrew flicks a switch that turns on some lights on the hood of his car. Matt isn't even sure that's legal, but he doesn't care. He just sets his jaw and listens as Andrew calls Renee and leaves her on speaker as he drives.

She seems to know exactly where they are and where the other car is. She tells them when the other car stops at an old factory on the outskirts of town and gives Andrew directions like some kind of live GPS. Even with Andrew speeding like mad, it still takes them fifteen minutes to reach the building. He cuts the flashing light off well before then, and he even turns his headlights off before they pull in behind the Tahoe.

He pops open the glove compartment and grabs a small pistol, which he promptly shoves into Matt's hand. Matt remembers Aaron's impromptu lesson from before - take the safety off, point, and pull the trigger. He thinks this time will be significantly more complicated, but he isn't about to tell Andrew he's never used a pistol before. They get out of the car and Andrew motions for Matt to be quiet and follow him.

They don't go for the first door they see. Instead, they circle around to the back of the building. Andrew tries the door and discovers that it's locked. He shoves his gun back in his holster and digs one hand into his pocket. He pulls some slim pieces of metal out and pokes them into the lock before jiggling them around a lot. It doesn't seem all that complicated, honestly, but Matt figures it's probably harder than it looks as Andrew pops open the door and slides the metal back into his pocket. He draws his gun once more and they creep silently and slowly into the dark building.

Emergency lights provide barely enough illumination for them to find their way. It's a fucking maze, and Matt has no idea where they're going or how to get to the front. Andrew has a tiny Bluetooth in his ear, but Matt doesn't even know if it's on or how it could be of any use in here.

Andrew pauses when they come to a corridor with three other directions to choose from. He mutters something under his breath, nods, then turns to the left. Matt blinks in surprise, but he doesn't dare ask. They haven't run into anyone so far, but he doesn't want to ruin that. He only saw the one car outside. If they're lucky, they will only have to deal with the four people who were in the car to begin with - including whoever drove. He can't be sure they'll get that lucky, though.

It seems to take forever for them to traverse the inside of the building. Anxiety and worry is a heavy stone in his stomach. He almost asks Andrew to stop for a minute so he can puke, but he just forces it back down and keeps moving. That would be too much noise, really. Finally, he hears something. Andrew freezes solid a split second before Matt registers what the sound is.

It's Aaron. And he's begging. “Stop!” he shouts. “Fuck! What do - ugh! - what do you fucking want?”

Andrew lurches forward again, a little faster this time. Matt clenches his jaw almost painfully tight. They have to get Aaron out of here. Now. He follows Andrew the rest of the way down the hall, but they stop at the door on the end. Andrew motions for Matt to stand still, so Matt nods. He will, at least at first. He has no desire to involve himself in a gunfight.

Andrew shoulders his way through the door, a gun in each hand, and he immediately begins to fire. Matt grimaces at the noise. His stomach drops to his feet when he hears Aaron shout, but he can't see Aaron from where he's standing. He shoves his way into the room a little to get a better view.

There are perhaps ten men. He watches Andrew shoot three of them back to back to back, and they fall like rocks. Matt's vision narrows in on Aaron where he's strung up by his wrists like a fucking side of meat. Matt's heart pounds in his ears. Aaron is a mess of blood, but Matt’s too far away to see how bad it is.

Someone is running at him. He forgets about the gun, honestly. He ends up dropping it - thankfully the safety is still on - and kicking the man running at him. He goes down in a heap, but Matt kicks him one more time in the head just to be sure he won't get up again for a while. He's officially been brought into the fray, though, so he moves into the room and makes his way toward Aaron. None of the men seem to have any guns, oddly enough, only knives. Matt avoids those easily enough, ducking around the blades and delivering punishing knock-out blows to each person who gets close to him. Even still, he winds up with more than a few nicks and scrapes over his chest and arms.

He makes it to Aaron's side at the same time as Andrew. Matt grabs the handcuff keys from the little card table beside Aaron. He reaches up and unlocks the handcuffs that are keeping Aaron's hands bound over his head. Aaron drops, but Andrew catches him.

“Aaron?” Matt asks, brushing one hand through Aaron's hair as Andrew lowers him to the floor and carefully goes over the cuts on his chest. Aaron manages to blink open his eyes for only a half a second before they roll to the back of his head. “Shit. Shit! Andrew -”

“Can you carry him?” Andrew asks. Matt nods. “Then let's go.” Andrew helps shove Aaron in Matt's arms, and then they're jogging for the front of the building. He opens the back door of the Maserati for Matt, so Matt just slides in with Aaron still in his arms. Andrew gets in the front and hits the switch for the flashing lights again instantly.

Matt shifts a little, leaning forward and snatching his shirt off over his head. He wads it up and presses it to the worst of the cuts in the center of Aaron's chest, trying to stop the bleeding. He cradles Aaron close with his other arm, trying to keep him as still as he can manage with the way Andrew is driving. The shirt soaks through entirely too quickly.

“Andrew,” Matt says, just a hint of panic in his voice. “Andrew he won't stop bleeding.”

“Apply more pressure,” Andrew says coldly.

“If I press down any harder, I'm going to break his ribs,” Matt says - and he can admit to a hint of hysteria. He isn't exactly exaggerating, though. “Hurry!”

“I am.” Andrew tears through an intersection and leaves cars blaring horns behind him. Matt has no idea why the cops aren't chasing them, but he also doesn't care - as long as they get Aaron some help. Fast.

But Andrew isn't going anywhere near the hospital downtown. Matt feels his nerves snap when he realizes they're back in the warehouse district. “Why the fuck are we here? He needs a fucking hospital!”

“We have a doctor here,” Andrew says, slowing barely enough to let the garage door open for his car to fit through. “Hospitals ask questions. Now shut up.” The tires squeal as Andrew slides into the garage. It's already closing behind them.

Matt kicks open the back door and climbs out with Aaron in his arms. Andrew leads the way into the big room. A different woman is there, waiting beside a gurney. Matt lays Aaron across it and takes a step back to watch as the woman presses her fingers to Aaron's neck to check for his pulse. She frowns, and Matt’s breath catches in his throat.

“Andrew, CPR now,” the woman commands. Andrew doesn't waste a second. In a flash, he's sitting on top of Aaron and doing chest compressions. Renee and the other woman push the gurney away. Matt sinks slowly to his knees, just watching as the door shuts behind them.

“What happened?” Wymack demands of him.

“He - he was hanging by his wrists,” Matt says, his voice faint. “Covered in blood. I don't… I don't know when he stopped breathing.” He didn't notice. He shivers. Someone puts a hand on his shoulder. When he looks up, he sees Neil standing beside him.

“Come on, let's go sit down. I'm sure they'll do what they can for him.” Neil pulls Matt to his feet and guides him over to the couch to sit.

Matt just stares at the floor. He's probably in shock or something. He doesn't know. At some point, Wymack gives him a shirt and hoodie to wear, so Matt pulls those on despite having Aaron's blood on him - and some of his own. He doesn't really listen to Neil talk, since he forgets every word Neil says almost as soon as he says it. He just… he can't understand how he was holding Aaron so close and had his hand over his heart and didn't even notice that he'd stopped breathing…

Andrew emerges at some point, but he doesn't say anything to anyone. He just lights a cigarette and flips Wymack off as Wymack yells at him to take it outside. He does walk away, though Matt isn't sure where he goes. Matt takes a bottle of water from someone and drinks a little. Surely if Aaron were dead then Abby and Renee would have said something by now? That's the thin hope he clings to as he waits. And waits. And waits…

Matt finally falls asleep on the small couch. Neil drops off in a chair nearby. Kevin does the same. Wymack remains awake, keeping an eye on all of them through the power of strong coffee and chronic insomnia. Andrew finally does return to sit with him in the large room, but he simply claims the top of a desk and rests his head against the wall, allowing himself to doze while he waits for answers. Wymack makes more coffee.

It's nearly dawn before Renee comes into the big room. She goes straight to Wymack, and they gather around Andrew, whose eyes snapped open the moment the door opened through which Renee entered. She looks exhausted, but so does everyone else. No one has truly slept.

“He's alive, and he'll be okay,” Renee says quietly. “Abby thinks it was whatever they dosed him with that affected him so badly. His injuries are unpleasant, but not that bad. We got everything out of his system, though, at least we're pretty sure, and he's resting now.”

“Is Aaron okay?” Matt's voice rings out across the room. He climbs to his feet as he brushes his fingers through his hair.

“He's all right now,” Renee tells him with a gentle smile. “He'll be fine.”

“Can I see him?” Matt asks. He's frowning. Renee nods and turns to lead Matt toward the room she and Abby have been working in all night. Matt feels something inside himself cringe at the sight of the bloody clothes and sheets and other things, but Aaron isn't in this room. Renee goes through it to another room.

In this new room, Matt sees Aaron. He's laying in a bed with several thick, wide layers of gauze wrapped around his chest. There are bandages around his wrists and around his right bicep as well. The sheets that cover him are only pulled up to his stomach. Matt isn't sure he wants to know if Aaron's hurt anywhere else. He crosses the room and stops at the edge of the bed, gently picking up Aaron's hand. Abby doesn't stay, and the door closes behind her, leaving them alone.

Matt brings Aaron's hand up to his mouth and kisses his knuckles. He traces over some old scars across Aaron's knuckles, wondering vaguely where they came from - could be from fights or something else. He is struck with the realization that he wants to know everything about Aaron - the good and the bad. He expects there's a lot of bad. But that's okay. He'll take it all. He just - he wants Aaron. He'd meant what he said earlier, even though that feels like ages ago now, about how he'd been trying to figure out a way to ask Aaron out on a proper date for a week. He can't explain why he's so captivated by this short, fierce little asshole, but he is. That's enough of a reason, probably.

He's surprised when, after sitting on the edge of Aaron's bed, Aaron opens his eyes. He blinks slowly a few times, just staring at Matt for a moment, then his eyes take in the room around them. “Wha’ ‘appened?”

Matt gives him a small smile. “Some guys grabbed you outside the club. They, uh, they fucked you up pretty badly.” Aaron nods to that, and Matt guesses that even through the haze of drugs he's on, he can still feel some pain. Perhaps he just knows that he's injured because he's on painkillers. Matt isn't going to ask. “Andrew and I got you out. We're at some warehouse downtown with some guy named Wymack and a lady named Renee.”

“Yeah,” Aaron mumbles. He closes his eyes for a long moment, then he sort of twitches and opens them again. “A-Andrew and you?” Matt nods. “Did - did you get hurt?”

“Nah,” Matt says with an easy smile. He doesn't want to worry Aaron. “I'm okay. How are you feeling, huh?”

“High,” Aaron says bluntly. “S’how I know ‘m fucked up.” He takes a deep breath and grimaces almost instantly, his free hand moving to press against the bandages around his chest. “Abby won' gimme shit ‘less she thinks I need it.”

“You really probably do,” Matt says softly. He bends over a little and kisses Aaron's knuckles once more. Aaron just watches him do it, a blank look on his face. “Do you need anything?”

Aaron shakes his head. “You look - look like shit. Go sleep.”

Matt laughs. “I feel like shit, trust me. Been too worried about you. Dozed for a minute, but it didn't help much.” Aaron blinks at him for a moment, then he yanks on the sheet covering him to pull it up a little. Matt stands and pulls it clear up to Aaron's chin.

“‘m cold,” Aaron says very quietly.

“I'll find you a blanket,” Matt says softly. He goes to pull his hand away from Aaron's, but Aaron latches onto him with a surprising amount of strength considering how drugged he is. “What?”

“No.” Aaron’s eyebrows wrinkle. He shoves one hand behind himself and makes himself sit up. Matt grabs his shoulder to steady him. He wants to push Aaron back down and make him be still, but he doesn't really think that's a great idea. “Gotta - gotta protect you. Stay.”

“Aaron, it's okay,” Matt says gently. “Andrew is here, too. And that Wymack guy is your boss, right? I'll be okay here. And I can take care of myself. Just rest.”

“No,” Aaron says again. He flaps one hand at Matt and goes to push the sheet away, which is when Matt realizes he's only in his underwear. Matt scrambles to get to the other side of the bed when he realizes Aaron is trying to stand. He gets there just in time to wrap one arm around Aaron's back and keep him steady.

“Just sit down, Aaron,” Matt pleads. “You're gonna hurt yourself even more.”

He can admit to a slight distraction at getting to see Aaron without so many baggy clothes on. He's nearly all muscle, even with the little bit of fat he has around his stomach - which is just endearing more than anything. He can clearly see the scars on Aaron's thigh from where he was shot there - smaller entrance wound, much larger exit wound. There are other scars as well, older ones, that are mostly jagged lines from cuts scattered here and there. He doesn't know what those might be from.

Aaron tries to take a step forward anyway, sways dangerously, and Matt’s arm around him is the only thing that keeps him upright. Matt easily manages to make him sit back down after that. Aaron looks like he's about to pass out again and is only hanging on through sheer force of will alone. Matt just sighs and shakes his head.

“Where is a blanket? I'll go get it, okay?”

“No.” Aaron shakes his head slightly, but that makes him grimace. He brings one hand up to hold his head around a forming bruise near his temple that Matt hadn't noticed before. “Don't leave.”

“What do you want me to do, then?” Matt asks, smiling just a little at how incredibly stubborn Aaron is. Once he can convince Aaron to lay back down, he's almost certain Aaron will go to sleep again, and then he can leave and go get a fucking blanket. He's dealt with enough drunk and high people in his life to know that going along with them for the most part is far easier than trying to work against them.

Aaron squints up at him, shrugs, and hunches down a little. “Where's my gun?”

“I don't know,” Matt says honestly. “But you don't need it right now anyway.” He is willing to bet that Andrew didn't get it from that factory, so Aaron will have to get a new one or something. Surely the cops will take it as evidence. They’ll definitely have to get the cops involved, now, right? Andrew killed some of those guys! He pushes those thoughts away. It isn’t important right now. He can figure out all of that later.

“I want it,” Aaron mumbles. He drags one corner of the sheet up over his shoulders.

Matt sighs a little. “I don’t know where it is, and if you won’t let me leave to go find it or a blanket, I can’t help you.” Aaron just sort of nods. “Will you let me go -”

“No,” Aaron says, cutting him off.

“Why?” Matt finally asks, needing to understand where this is coming from. “We’re safe here, right?”

“Don’t care,” Aaron says. “You gotta stay.”

“Okay.” Matt relents and just sits down on the bed beside Aaron. He’s a little surprised when Aaron flops over into his side, but when he looks down, Aaron’s eyes are closed and it looks like he’s asleep again. Matt just shakes his head and gently maneuvers Aaron back onto the bed properly, making sure his head is on the pillow. He covers Aaron with the sheet and squeezes his hand just before he turns to leave.

“Stay,” Aaron mumbles again, clutching Matt’s hand. His grip definitely isn’t as strong this time.

“I’ll be right back,” Matt says gently, trying to free his hand. Aaron’s eyes open, then, and he frowns up at Matt. “Nevermind.” Matt does walk around to the other side of the bed, but he just sits on the edge of it and takes up Aaron’s other hand, squeezing gently. “Sleep, Aaron. I won’t go anywhere.” Aaron nods and sort of rolls partly to his side and winds up half curled around Matt’s hips. Matt really can't go anywhere without waking Aaron up again.

Abby comes into the room a little later with a blanket. She looks a little surprised to see Matt still there, and to see Aaron wrapped around him like a leech, but she doesn't say anything about it. She drapes the blanket over Aaron.

“He wouldn't let me leave,” Matt says quietly. “And he wanted his gun…”

“I don't know where that is,” Abby says with a frown. “I'm sure Wymack will get him a new one. But I'll sit with him if you want to go.”

Matt shrugs. When he tries to stand, Aaron's eyes flash open again and he tugs at Matt's hand until he sits back down. Matt gives Abby a pointed look. She smiles behind her hand.

“Aaron, he's fine here,” she says, touching his shoulder lightly. “Wymack will -”

“No,” Aaron mutters, even though his eyes are closed. “My…re’pons’bil’ty.”

“I would say I've never seen him like this,” Abby says with a shrug, “but usually it's only with Andrew, which is why I don't let Andrew in here while he's like...this.” She sighs. “I guess it's not just him, though. I'm sorry, Matt. You might as well get comfortable. He won't let you leave. If you try, he'll just follow you.”

“Well, I guess I'll stay,” Matt says softly, fighting a grin. He looks up at Abby. “While you're in here… I, uh, I might have a couple scratches.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Scratches, huh? Let's see them.” She doesn't even look mad, just resigned. Matt frees his hand from Aaron's grip, but when Aaron notices he isn't going anywhere, he's straight back to sleep again. He tugs the hoodie and shirt over his head and Abby sighs as she shakes her head.

“Well, they aren't bleeding so you don't need stitches,” she says. “But I can at least clean and disinfect them. I'll be right back.”

“Thanks,” Matt says, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. She goes and returns just a moment later with a bag over her shoulder.

“I'm Abby, by the way,” she says while she works on cleaning the cuts. “I work with these troublemakers, mostly just patching them all back together when they need it. You're Matt, right?”

He nods. “Matt Boyd. My mom hired Aaron after I started getting a lot of threats and shit.” He grimaces as Abby pours some alcohol over one of the cuts.

“Well, usually Aaron doesn't take long assignments. He's never stuck around a client longer than four days at the most. You haven't driven him cussing and screaming to Wymack yet, so you two must get along pretty well.” She smiles.

“I think so,” Matt says cautiously. He doesn't want to say anything else to her, though. He doesn't know how much Aaron trusts her. “I don't know what I'll do now, since he's hurt so badly.”

“Oh, I thought Renee told you,” Abby says. “He's really not that bad. The cuts aren't pretty, sure, and I had to stitch some of them up, but it was whatever he was drugged with that slowed his heart so much. He'll be back to his usual grumpy self in a couple of days, and good luck trying to convince him he can't do something.” She grimaces. “When he got shot this last time, I had to seriously threaten to strap him to a bed just to make him be still and rest so he could heal. He still didn't listen, not really.”

“He has stitches over like, half his chest and he still thinks he's gonna try to protect me?” Matt asks incredulously.

Abby nods. “He's trying to do that now, isn't he?” She looks down at where Aaron has curled one hand into the leg of Matt's jeans to make sure he doesn't try to leave again. “He doesn't even have a gun, not to mention he's high on morphine right now. He will still try.”

“That's…” Matt stares at Aaron for a moment. “But why?”

“Don't ask me,” Abby says quietly. She finishes with the last of the cuts and packs her things away. “I'll leave dealing with Aaron to you and Wymack. Have fun.” Abby gives him a cheery smile and slides the strap of her bag over her shoulder before heading out of the room. Matt huffs after her.

Well, since he's stuck there, he might as well sleep too. He untangles Aaron's hand from his jeans and smiles a little when Aaron looks up at him. “I'm gonna lay down with you, okay?” Aaron nods, surprisingly. Matt shifts around in the rather narrow bed until he's laying down and more or less comfy. It doesn't take him long to get to sleep.

* * *

 

When Aaron wakes, he's warm - but also in pain. He doesn't want to open his eyes yet, he just wants to lay here and be completely still and maybe never move again - at least until he isn't hurting quite so badly. But he can't do that. He has fuzzy, odd memories from the night before. One of those is a clear image of Matt kissing his hand. That makes him open his eyes.

He is curled up...with Matt. It's not difficult to recognize the incredibly well-toned chest of the man he's been staring at for the last two weeks (and with more than a little interest over the last week). He shoves himself back, away from Matt, and pushes himself upright. Matt scrunches his face up before opening his eyes and staring at Aaron blearily.

“What's wrong?” Matt mumbles. He yawns and sits up as well, scrubbing one hand down his face.

Aaron notices the half-dozen or so cuts across Matt's arms and chest and his stomach clenches. “You -” He has to stop and clear his throat. His voice is tight and rough. “Last night. You said you didn't get hurt.”

“Oh.” Matt frowns down at the cuts on one arm, then looks over at Aaron. “It happened when we were getting you out of that factory place. It's fine, Aaron. I'm okay.”

“You weren't supposed to get hurt,” Aaron says, his voice fainter than he intended. “Fuck.” He shoves the blankets away and frowns at the bandages covering most of his chest. Well. Matt obviously saw him mostly naked last night anyway, so it doesn't matter now. He makes himself stand.

“Woah.” Matt rolls across the bed and jumps to his feet beside Aaron, latching onto his arm. “I don't think you should be moving yet.”

“Let me go,” Aaron says, snatching his arm away.

“Aaron -”

“No.” Aaron looks up at him with a coldly blank face. “You shouldn't have gone with Andrew last night. You got hurt, and that's - that's my fault.”

“It isn't your fault,” Matt says quickly. “If it's anyone's fault, it's those fucking guys who took you. And I didn't exactly give Andrew a choice.”

“Whatever. I need a shower.” Aaron walks away from Matt and goes for the door. Matt follows him, which… Aaron isn't sure how to feel about that. A part of him is glad, since he is supposed to keep Matt safe, but another part of him doesn't want Matt anywhere near him. Matt safer here than he is anywhere else.

Aaron walks through Abby’s makeshift doctor's office and sometimes operating room to get to the main room. No one is around, which isn't terribly surprising. Aaron vaguely remembers one of the fucks who grabbed him tossing his phone out of the moving car as he walks.

“Motherfucker,” Aaron sighs.

“What?” Matt asks.

“I have to get a new phone.” He pauses. “And a new gun.” He grimaces. On the other side of the room, he pulls open a door that leads to a hallway. The doors are all closed, and none are marked, but he learned his way around this maze of a building years ago.

“Abby said Wymack would get you a new gun,” Matt says after a moment. “I can help with the phone, though, since it's basically my fault you were kidnapped or whatever in the first place.”

“I get paid to do this, or did you forget that?” Aaron asks with a sneer. “It's a hazard of the job. I can get myself a new phone.”

Matt is quiet as Aaron pulls open the fourth door on the right and leads them through another mostly-empty lounge sort of room. On the other side of that room, he pulls open another door to reveal a fully equipped gym.

“What kind of place is this?” Matt asks as they walk through the gym.

“Our headquarters. Most of the warehouse was converted into offices and apartments and shit, then the company that owned it went bankrupt. Wymack bought it for way less than it was worth. The apartments are on the upper floors. That's where most of us live.” He pulls open another door to reveal yet another hallway, but this one is wider and has labeled doors. Halfway down, there's an elevator. He leads the way to it and punches the “up” button.

“So how many of you are there?” Matt asks.

Aaron shrugs. “Depends. Right now, it's me and Andrew, Renee, Seth, Robin, Jack and Sheena, and of course Wymack and Abby. There have been others, but they're either dead or they quit.” He steps into the elevator and Matt follows. They go up to the third floor and Aaron leads the way to his own apartment. Thankfully they have coded locks on their doors - they all tend to lose their keys entirely too often. He punches in the ten-digit code and waits for the lock to click before shoving open his door.

“This is...yours?” Matt asks as he looks around. It's sparsely furnished, but Aaron doesn't need much. Most of the living room contains a couch, a tv, a PlayStation, and lots and lots of books.

“Yeah. Make yourself comfortable. I need a shower.” He looks at Matt for a moment, frowning. “Seth’s clothes will probably fit you. He should be here. I'll ask him for something when I'm done, then you can shower and shit.”

“Uh, thanks.” Matt takes a seat on the couch and Aaron goes to his bedroom. He shuts the bathroom door, but he doesn't lock it. He's passed out in the shower before after getting hurt, and he really doesn't need to listen to Wymack bitch about someone breaking down the door to get to him. Again.

It takes a while to get all the bandages off. He grimaces at the sight of the stitches. It's all he can do not to recoil in pain when the water first hits them. Still, he makes himself stand there until it stops hurting quite so badly, and then he cleans himself up. He has dried blood caked to him in places and even in his hair. He doesn't bother with shaving once he's finally done with his shower, but he does brush his teeth. He dresses in cargo pants, but he can't stand the way his shirt pulls at the stitches on his chest, so he pulls that back off and digs out a roll of gauze.

Matt is still on the couch where Aaron left him. He looks up when he sees Aaron. “Feel any better?”

Aaron just shrugs. “I need your help.” He holds up the roll of gauze. Matt nods and pats the couch cushion beside him. Aaron sits down and hands over the gauze, and Matt quickly and efficiently wraps some around Aaron's chest for him, covering the stitches. “Thanks.”

“Do you want me to do your wrists?” Matt asks, his fingers barely grazing the skin above Aaron's wrists. He'd struggled against the cuffs enough to tear a lot of the skin around his wrists. It looks bad and doesn't feel great. Aaron considers this, then nods, so Matt carefully wraps each wrist as well.

“You can use my shower,” Aaron says, gesturing to his bedroom. “Towels are in the linen closet. You'll see it. I'll get you something to wear.”

“Thanks,” Matt says quietly.

Aaron shrugs and leaves his apartment. He doesn't think Matt will mess with anything, and Matt doesn't have a reason to steal anything of Aaron's - he has plenty of his own money. Aaron spends the next five minutes banging on Seth's door until he finally answers.

“I need to borrow some of your clothes,” Aaron says flatly to a clearly hungover Seth.  
“Why?” Seth asks.

“Because Matt is about your size and he needs them,” Aaron says, a tad impatiently. “I'll get them back to you.”

“Who's Matt?” Seth asks, leaning against the door frame with a suggestive smirk.

“Christ, Seth, he's my assignment. A bunch of fucked up shit happened last night.” He gestures to his chest - which is bare save for the bandages covering it. “Matt kind of wound up covered in my blood. Just give me the goddamn clothes.”

“Whatever.” Seth yawns and holds the door open for Aaron to come inside. “Find them your damn self. I'm going back to bed.” Aaron trails after Seth as he wanders back into his bedroom. He falls face-first into his bed. Aaron just rolls his eyes and goes for Seth's dresser, digging around for something for Matt to wear just until they can get back to Matt's apartment.

“This is mine, jackass,” Aaron says, holding up an old, faded Avenged Sevenfold tee shirt. “I'm taking it back.” Seth flips him off, but doesn't say anything. Aaron tugs the shirt on and finds a pair of jeans for Matt with a different tee shirt. “Thanks for nothing, shit head.”

“Bite me,” Seth grumbles.

Aaron huffs a laugh and leaves Seth's apartment, going back across the hall to his own. He goes to his room to leave the clothes for Matt - and sees a very naked Matt standing in the bathroom, the towel in his hand off to the side. Aaron flushes red. He drops the clothes on his dresser and promptly turns around to leave, shutting his bedroom door behind himself.

He goes to his kitchen and grabs a bottle of water. He digs around for food, but there's not much that doesn't need to be cooked, and that's not a good idea right now. He can't help but turn a little bit pink again when Matt comes out of his room a few minutes later.

“Uh, sorry?” Matt says, rubbing the back of his neck with a goofy grin. “Thanks for these, by the way.” He plucks at the shirt that's a size too small on him. Aaron….can't say he minds, really. The jeans fit well enough, at least, though they're a tad short. Seth isn't quite as tall as Matt is, after all.

“Whatever,” Aaron mutters. “Let's just go.”

“Go where?” Matt asks. “I don't really think you should be going anywhere.”

“Well I don't have anything to eat here that doesn't have to be cooked, and I'm still a bit high on morphine so letting me near sharp knives and open flames probably isn't a good idea.” Matt nods. “I want to eat, you probably do, too, and I want my goddamn gun. That means figuring out where the fuck Wymack is. He also gets to let me borrow his phone so I can call and cancel my cards and shit since those guys took my wallet, too.”

“You can use mine?” Matt offers, sliding his hand into his pocket and holding out his phone. “It's half dead, but if you guys have an iPhone charger anywhere…”

“There's one by the couch,” Aaron says quietly. “Matt…”

“Aaron, I just want you to take it easy, okay?” Matt pleads. “I can call my mom and have her pick me up and I can just stay with her for a few days. I'll be okay. You don't have to worry about me. No one is going to blame you or - or think less of you or something because you need to chill for a few days.”

“I'm not letting you out of my sight,” Aaron says simply. “After what just happened, do you not get how dangerous these people are? If you hadn't fought those two off, or if you'd drank that shit, too, they probably would have taken you as well. Then we'd both be fucked. I don't want to risk you getting hurt - hurt even fucking worse - just because I have a few stitches. I can still do my job.”

Matt sighs. “Then can we just - just stay here or go back to my place and not do anything else for a few days?”

“You have shit to do,” Aaron says. “I’ll live.”

“I don't have to do anything,” Matt says. He gestures to the brace on his wrist. “I don't exactly have any fights scheduled, and it's not like I can do much with a broken wrist anyway. Just - please, Aaron. If you're going to insist on staying near me, let's take it easy, okay? Both of us.”

“Where you go, I go,” Aaron says by way of an answer. He won't tell Matt to just hang out around his apartment for him - he can't. But...he really appreciates the thought.

“Okay.” Matt smiles. “Then let's go find Wymack, get some breakfast, and go to my apartment. You can call whoever you need to call when we get there.” Aaron nods, only a little reluctantly.

“Let me get something.” Aaron goes to his room and kneels in the bottom of his closet. He opens a small floor safe and pulls out a bundle of cash, peels away a few hundred dollar bills, then replaces the bundle. He also grabs the gun - already secured in an extra holster - and he shuts the safe. He fits the holster into place on his thigh and crams the money into one of his pockets.

“I thought you needed a gun?” Matt asks, eyebrows raising as he looks at the gun on Aaron's thigh.

“I don't like this one,” Aaron says simply. “It's too big and too loud. I want my other one.” He shrugs.

“Okay,” Matt says.

Aaron sits down on the couch to cram his feet into a spare pair of boots - Abby probably has his good ones somewhere. He grabs a hoodie as well and shrugs into it before looking at Matt. “Okay.”

“Where is Wymack going to be?” Matt asks.

“Probably in his office,” Aaron says. “If not, I'll just have to find him.”

They walk out of the apartment, and the door automatically locks behind them. Aaron takes them to a different elevator and they ride down to the first floor. Getting to Wymack’s office is simple - they only have to go down two halls to reach it.

Thankfully, they find him there. “Still alive I see,” Wymack says, leaning back in his chair. “Andrew left to go take care of the factory. He said he'd bring your gun back if he found it.”

“Tell him to look for my wallet, too,” Aaron says. “They took it from me. They also tossed my phone out the window, so I have to get another one.”

“Christ, Minyard, that's like the third one this year.” Wymack rubs his hand over his face. “Where are you two going, then? I'm already keeping an eye out on Andrew's two.”

“Back to Matt's,” Aaron says.

“Fine. Stay the fuck there and don't go anywhere. Kevin was threatened again this morning and we are on high alert. If you suspect anything at all, fucking call me.”

“Will do.” Aaron turns and leaves the office without another word. They're most of the way to the front of the warehouse when he looks up at Matt. “Can you call a cab?”

“Sure.” Matt gets an Uber and they get the driver to stop for breakfast first. Aaron even gets him to stop at a store so he can go in a buy a new fucking phone for himself. They finally make it back to Matt's apartment and Aaron tips the driver an extra twenty bucks for all the stops.

He makes Matt wait in the hall while he tracks through the apartment. He's tired and sluggish and in pain, but he makes sure no one is in Matt's apartment and they sit on the couch together. Aaron spends the next hour setting up his phone and getting it the way he wants it. He texts Andrew and Wymack to let them know he has it once more, and Andrew almost immediately texts him back to tell him that he found Aaron's gun and wallet.

“What's Andrew doing there, anyway?” Matt asks when Aaron relays this information to him.

“Burning the place down,” Aaron says with a shrug.

Matt gapes at him. “Why?”

“Missing people are easier to explain than dead bodies. Andrew can stage it, make it look like they were fucking around in there and they set the fire themselves. When the cops investigate, no one will know what really happened.” Aaron gives him a flat expression. “I did say we were more like mercenaries than a security firm.”

“Yeah,” Matt says faintly.

Aaron stands up and refuses to look at Matt. “See why I said you couldn't handle what I do? This is just a part of it. It doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen.”

Matt surprises him by grabbing his hand. “It was just a lot to take in,” he says quietly. “I...I kind of understand why he's doing it. Just because it freaks me out a little bit doesn't mean I don't want anything to do with you. I still like you, and I still want to take you out on an actual date once all this shit is put to rest.”

Aaron looks over at Matt, surprised and at a total loss for what to say. He doesn't get it. Matt probably watched Andrew kill a bunch of people last night. He knows Aaron does the same. And yet...here he is, still asking Aaron out on a fucking date. It's absurd.

“You're fucked in the head. Do you know that?” Aaron asks.

Matt laughs. “Yeah, probably. Remmy calls me a meathead all the time. I guess it's true.” He stands slowly and tugs Aaron closer. Aaron goes, but if he were to ask himself why, he'd have no answers. He looks up at Matt as Matt rests one hand lightly on the side of his neck. Aaron is frozen solid as Matt bends down and kisses him.

Aaron kisses him back.

He blames the lingering traces of morphine in his system. What else could it be? He doesn't do shit like this. Ever. And yet. As Matt wraps one arm around his back and tugs Aaron to his chest, Aaron ends up wrapping his arms around Matt's neck. It's a damn nice kiss.

Aaron's phone rings, startling both of them. Aaron jerks away from Matt and grabs his phone from the couch. He holds it up to his ear. “Yeah?”

“I have your wallet and gun,” Andrew says. Aaron can hear him as he inhales a hit from a cigarette. Aaron quit smoking years ago, but damn if he doesn't itch for one right now - that, or pills.

“Thanks,” Aaron mutters. “We are at Matt's. Can you bring them by?”

“Twenty minutes,” Andrew says and hangs up.

Aaron looks at Matt. “Andrew found my gun and my wallet, so he's bringing them by in a bit.”

“Okay,” Matt says softly. “Aaron -”

“Just shut up.” Aaron grabs the front of his shirt and yanks him down for another kiss. Matt just grins into it.

They wind up on the couch a few minutes later, just sitting and watching one of Matt's movies from his quite impressive collection. Aaron is barely awake as it is, but he's fighting to keep his eyes open. Andrew will be there soon, then he can nap.

He ends up falling asleep anyway, and he doesn't realize that his head was on Matt's shoulder until a knock on Matt's door jerks him awake. He looks at Matt with a frown, frowns harder at the blanket that has materialized over him, then tosses it aside to stand and go to the door. He keeps one hand on his gun as he deactivates the alarm and unlocks the door before pulling it open. It's Andrew, as he suspected.

Andrew pushes past him and looks at Matt. “Have you heard from Neil?” he demands.

“No, why?” Matt asks as he stands, his eyebrows pinching in worry.

“Apparently he vanished this morning right after I left,” Andrew mutters. He types out a text on his phone, then looks up at Aaron. “Stay the fuck here. I have an idiot to find.”

“I can help you,” Aaron says, checking over his gun and noting that it still has a full clip.

“The fuck you can,” Matt argues. “You're dead on your feet and covered in fucking stitches.”

Aaron sneers at Matt. “And I've been in worse shape.”

“The giant is right,” Andrew says flatly. “Renee is helping. Do us all a favor and do not leave this apartment.” He turns and walks out, slamming the door behind himself. He doesn't give Aaron a chance to argue.

“As worried as I am,” Matt says quietly, “you really don't need to try and go with him.”

“And I don't think Riko was the one who sent those people last night,” Aaron says darkly. “What if people like that grabbed Neil, huh? If he's supposed to be your friend -”

“He is my friend,” Matt insists. “But I can't do anything to help him. I'd call the cops, but I don't think anyone wants me to do that, so I won't. All I can do is hope that Andrew and Renee get to Neil really quickly and that he's okay when they find him. That's all you can do, too. You're hurt, Aaron. If you try to go out there, you're only going to slow everyone else down and get in the way, and I think you know that.”

Aaron just stares up at him. That...that was a low blow. He doubts Matt realizes he's just nailed some of Aaron's insecurities, but it doesn't matter. What he said was true.

“I'm not trying to be mean,” Matt says, much gentler. “I don't want you to take what I said the wrong way. You fucking died last night, okay? Your heart stopped beating. I don't know for how long, but it definitely happened. So please, Aaron, just take it easy today. I'm positive that Andrew will let us know what's going on with Neil as soon as he finds out.”

All Aaron can do is nod. He walks around Matt and goes for the guest room. It takes little time to find some gym shorts and change into them. He leaves his older gun and the one he likes on the bedside table, then crawls into the bed. He's exhausted and in pain and he feels like such a fucking burden right now… He stares at the wall for a while, waiting for sleep to drag him under. It doesn't happen as quickly as he'd hoped, though.

“Aaron?” Matt asks. Aaron doesn't move to look at him. Matt sighs. “I know you aren't asleep. Will you come sit with me?”

“Why?” Aaron asks dully.

“Because I want you to?” Matt says - like it's a question. “My best friend is missing, you were fucking kidnapped last night, and I - I really just want you to. Please.”

“Fine.” Aaron sits up and shoves the blanket away. He grabs his favorite gun and carries it out to the living room with him, leaving it on the table by the end of the couch he claims. Matt sits on the other end and starts the movie they were watching earlier. Aaron falls asleep in a matter of minutes.

This time, it’s a hand in his hair that wakes him. It’s soothing and gentle and not at all comparable to the way his mother used to grab a fistful of his hair to snatch him around. He doesn’t want to open his eyes. But he’s hurting. There has to be something around here he can take - even just some over-the-counter painkillers. He doesn’t care. He grimaces and the hand in his hair stops moving, then goes away completely.

“Did I wake you?” Matt asks, voice quiet as if Aaron is still asleep.

“No,” Aaron mumbles. He forces himself to sit up, one hand pressed to the line of stitches that crosses his chest. “Fucking hurting.”

“I’m sorry,” Matt says with a frown. “I’ve only got like, ibuprofen here.”

“I’ll take that over nothing,” Aaron sighs. Matt nods and stands, gesturing for Aaron to stay put. Aaron doesn’t argue this time. He checks his phone and finds nothing new from Andrew, which is a little concerning. He sends him a text asking for an update. It’s nearly seven now, and Aaron’s a little bit mad that he slept for so long. Matt comes back to him with a bottle of water and a small bottle of ibuprofen. Aaron dumps four of them into his hand and tosses them into his mouth before taking a long drink of water. Matt takes the bottle back, but he just sets it on the table near his end of the couch.

“Takeout tonight?” Matt asks. “I’m pretty hungry.”

“Sure,” Aaron says with a soft sigh. “Have you heard from anyone?”

Matt shakes his head. “No. I don’t know Andrew’s number, and Kevin’s phone is off. I’m really worried.”

“Call and order us some food,” Aaron says, making himself stand. “I’ll call Wymack.” Matt nods, and Aaron goes to the guest room. He stops by the bathroom first to pee, then he sits on the edge of the bed as he listens to the phone ring.

“What?” Wymack snaps angrily.

“Update,” Aaron says flatly.

“The goddamn FBI just called me. They have Neil. He’s at the hospital. We’re trying to get in to see him now. They won’t give us any updates on him. Andrew’s pissed.”

“Keep me informed,” Aaron says simply. He hangs up and leaves the room. He sits on the couch beside Matt and waits until he’s finished putting in an order for hot wings. “Neil is at the hospital. The FBI have him. Wymack doesn’t know why, but he’ll let me know when he has more information.”

“Shit,” Matt whispers. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“At least if he’s at the hospital, he’ll be okay,” Aaron says with a shrug. “If he doesn’t want to be there, I’m sure Andrew and Wymack can find a way to smuggle him out or something.”

“But...what about the FBI?” Matt asks.

“Renee will think of something,” Aaron answers. “She always does.”

“Speaking of,” Matt says, frowning, “last night, Andrew was speeding like crazy through the city and there weren’t any cops around. He had a light on his car, but like… How does he get away with that?”

Aaron cracks a smirk. “He doesn’t. The light isn’t for the cops, it’s for everyone else to get out of the fucking way. They usually do. If he has to drive like that, Renee usually calls in a bank robbery or bomb threat or something like that clear on the other side of the city. Gets all the cops over there and leaves Andrew free to drive like a fucking maniac.”

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“Yeah, and?” Aaron snorts. “We do a lot of illegal shit, Matt. I mean, Andrew killed people last night, didn’t he?” Matt nods slowly. “Okay, then. About 85% of the time, we don’t have to do anything like that, but there are times when we do. Wymack made a name for himself a while back when he rescued some lady’s son. They were trying to ransom him for some weird shit or something, I don’t know the whole story, but Wymack got the kid back to his mom and took care of the guys who did it. So he wound up with a reputation. People call us when they need things swept under the rug. We don’t mind the dirty work, usually, and like I said, it doesn’t happen often.”

“Oh, okay,” Matt says. “So you really think they can help Neil?”

“Probably,” Aaron says with a shrug. “We’ll see what happens.” Matt just sort of nods, still looking unsure. Aaron doesn't care. Either Matt will see or he won't. It's not his goal in life to make Matt understand.

They sit on the couch and Matt turns the TV over to an MMA fight. They watch and don't speak while they wait for the food to arrive. Aaron answers the door, though Matt is right behind him so he can pay for it. Aaron doesn't think the scrawny kid at the door is a threat. He heads off to the kitchen while Matt gets the food and they split up the wings. He's surprised that Matt chose some for him that are suitably spicy.

“Thanks,” Aaron says quietly while they eat standing in the kitchen.

Matt smiles a little. “You always seem to get the spiciest thing on the menu everywhere we go, so I was hoping those would be okay.”

Aaron nods. “They're good.” They don't really talk while they eat, but it isn't uncomfortable.

After they've cleaned up the mess a bit and settled down on the couch once more, Matt tosses a controller to Aaron. “I really just sorta want to mindlessly kill things for a while. You in?”

“Yeah,” Aaron says with a smirk. “Bet I'm better than you, too.”

“Oh, you're on,” Matt says, relaxing a bit and grinning. They spend the next couple of hours playing mostly one-on-one matches. Aaron is, undoubtedly, better than Matt.

“Dude, that's like the ninth time you've nailed me with a fucking head shot. How the fuck are you doing that?”

Aaron huffs a laugh. “Sniper rifle. I used to play this shit with Andrew when we lived with Nicky. I was always the best as a sniper. I'm good with one in real life too.”

“I've never shot a gun before,” Matt says as he manages to run up behind Aaron at his spawn point and get him with his melee weapon.

“It's not hard. There's a gun range just outside the city. I can show you, if you want.”

“Sweet.” Matt grins over at him. While he's looking away from the screen, Aaron shoots him. “Aw, come on!”

“All's fair in Call of Duty,” Aaron says with a smile. “Not my fault you looked away from the screen.”

“Asshole!” Matt shouts. He leans over in front of Aaron and kisses him, which leaves Aaron too flustered to get behind cover - and Matt gets his revenge. Matt cackles.

“That was a cheap trick,” Aaron mutters. He tosses a grenade into the house Matt is hiding in and gets the confirmed kill, which leaves Matt groaning. “Bastard.”

“Oh, I'm the bastard?” Matt asks. “You just fucking blew me up!”

“You started it.”

“No, I'm pretty sure you did when you fucking shot me when I wasn't looking!”

Aaron just flips Matt off and Matt laughs. He grabs Aaron's controller and hides it on his other side as he quickly runs over and kills Aaron in the game. Aaron punches Matt in the arm, but Matt just laughs as he runs to the spawn point to kill Aaron again.

“Fuck you!” Aaron shouts, half crawling over Matt to reach his controller. He shouts in triumph when he grabs it, but he doesn't move, he just stays there as he runs away from Matt and tries to get to a better area. He leans up and kisses Matt himself, this time, but he keeps one eye on the screen and shoots Matt while Matt is suitably distracted.

Matt grabs Aaron's controller and tosses it to the floor, but he drops his own as well. Then his arms are around Aaron and pulling him around to sit in his lap and hold him close. Aaron melts into the kiss, not quite able to resist Matt. He doesn't know what the fuck he's doing - he shouldn't be doing this with Matt - but he wants to, and Matt obviously does, too. So he lets himself be kissed and he kisses back, licking into Matt's mouth and biting his lip. Matt kisses over Aaron's jaw and down to his neck, making Aaron shudder and gasp very softly. Matt licks at the spot Aaron reacted to, then he bites gently and sucks a bit of Aaron's skin between his teeth.

“Don't give me a fucking hickey,” Aaron mutters, tugging at Matt's hair very gently to get him to back off. It...has the opposite effect. Tugging at his hair just makes him groan and sink his teeth in even more. Aaron pulls a little harder, and Matt jerks his head up to kiss Aaron hard enough to push him backward a little. “Someone - likes having his - mph - hair pulled,” Aaron manages to say between kisses and while smirking.

“You have no idea,” Matt says with a grin.

“I think I might,” Aaron says flatly, shifting forward and grinding against Matt's very obviously hard dick. Matt laughs, which Aaron wasn't expecting. “Weirdo.”

“Sue me,” Matt says with a shrug and a grin, then he dips closer to kiss Aaron again. His hand winds up on the inside of Aaron's shirt, but at the first graze against the gauze, he freezes. “Shit. I'm sorry.”

“It's fine,” Aaron says softly. Matt arches an eyebrow at him. “Shut up.” Aaron threads his fingers in Matt's hair and tugs his head back, smirking at Matt's low moan and kissing down the long expanse of neck now available to him. He can feel Matt's arms tightening around his back as he bites at his collar and tugs at his hair again.

“Fuck,” Matt whimpers softly.

“Not your brightest idea,” Aaron drawls. He does tug at the waistband of Matt's shorts, though. “I have another idea.” Aaron reaches into Matt's shorts and frees his cock, then he slides back to get out of Matt's hold. He sinks to his knees in front of Matt and doesn't really think about what he's doing as he wraps his lips around the head and sucks lightly. Matt groans loudly - very loudly - and it's all Aaron can do not to smirk.

He spends the next several minutes on his knees bent to his task. Matt thankfully doesn't pull his hair, but he does grip Aaron's shoulder or run his fingers through his hair or grip his own shorts tightly. He teases Matt's orgasm out of him at last, and he takes nearly all of Matt down his throat as he swallows. Matt whimpers as he shudders.

Aaron finally pulls away and uses Matt's knee to climb to his feet. Matt surprises him by pulling him close and kissing him, then tugging him down on the couch beside him. He gently pushes Aaron down on his back so he's laying across the couch. Matt hovers over him, kissing him again, then he tugs at Aaron's shorts much like Aaron did to him.

Just as Matt takes him into his mouth, Aaron's phone goes off. Aaron curses and reaches up to grab it from the table. Matt pulls away from him, eyebrows wrinkling in concern. “Good news,” Aaron says as he reads the message. “Andrew says they just got Neil back.”

“Awesome,” Matt says with a wide grin. “We’ll go see them in a little bit.” A soft, short moan catches in Aaron's throat as he bends over him and swallows him whole. Aaron’s phone slips out of his hand to the floor beside the couch. His hand winds up tangled in Matt's hair as Matt sucks him off. He can't quite stop the soft gasps and little moans, even if he isn't near as loud as Matt. He hears something odd, but doesn't pay it any mind - doesn't care to as Matt makes him come.

“Aaron!”

Matt and Aaron both freeze and look at each other. Aaron looks down at the floor where his phone is laying face down. He slowly reaches down and picks it up. He feels himself blush from his hair down to his chest. There's a call connected to Andrew and has been for the last several minutes.

“Aaron, are you okay?” Andrew asks as Aaron hits the speaker button.

“Uh, yeah,” Aaron says, then clears his throat. “Sorry.”

“What the fuck was that?” Andrew demands. He doesn't sound happy at all. “Are you still at Boyd’s apartment? I told you not to leave.”

“Yeah, I'm still here,” Aaron says. He rubs one hand down his face. “It's - it's fine, Andrew. Nothing's wrong.”

“Then what was that?” Andrew asks, sounding more suspicious this time.

“Pretty sure he just got laid,” someone else on Andrew's end of the phone says.

“Neil?” Matt asks with a happy grin. He snatches Aaron's phone from him. “Hey buddy! You okay?”

“I'm fine,” Neil says.

“He is not,” someone else yells.

“Aaron,” Andrew says flatly. “What the fuck?”

“Go to hell.” Aaron reaches over and takes his phone back, then promptly ends the call just as laughter sounds on the other end of the line. He groans softly as he hides his face in his hands.

“Uh… How much did he hear?” Matt asks.

“Everything,” Aaron says miserably. “Fuck me.”

“Thought you said that was a bad idea,” Matt says with a laugh. He tugs Aaron's shorts back into place for him and pats his thigh. “It's okay. What are they gonna do? I mean, really?”

“If you have to ask, you don't want to know,” Aaron sighs. He holds out his hand, and Matt humors him by pulling him upright. “I'm sure they're going to the warehouse.”

“Let me change clothes and we’ll go,” Matt says with a bright smile. He bends down and kisses Aaron. “Don't let them get to you.”

“Yeah, well, they didn't just listen to you get a fucking blow job.” Aaron groans again and hides his face in his hands. “I'm never going to live this down. Know what? Just - just shoot me. Save me the trouble.”

Matt laughs. “No way. Come on, it won't be that bad.”

“Oh, yes it will,” Aaron mutters. He drops his hands and slowly stands. “I have to change, too.” He sighs as he heads to the guest room. It doesn't take him long to pee and wash his hands. He brushes his teeth also. When he's done with that, he pulls on his cargo pants and a clean shirt and adds his hoodie as well. Even with the hoodie, though, the hickey Matt left on his neck is still plainly visible. He rolls his eyes at it in the mirror.

Matt drives them to the warehouse as Aaron gives him directions. Aaron makes him park in the actual parking lot rather than the garage Andrew gets away with using so often. They head in on that side of the building and it takes almost ten minutes of walking through the maze of halls and rooms just to get to the main lounge they all primarily use.

Neil is sitting on one of the couches beside Kevin. Andrew is standing beside him. Abby has her bag of medical shit open on the table in front of him, but she isn't doing anything right now. Wymack and Renee are standing a short distance away. Neil looks awful. He has a nasty burn on one cheek and some deep cuts on the other. His arms are a mix of cuts and burns in a horrible pattern. Aaron feels a little queasy just looking at him.

“Holy shit, Neil,” Matt says quietly. “Oh my God.”

“I'm okay,” Neil says, voice a little rough. Aaron can guess why.

“Don't,” Matt says, shaking his head. “Just don't, Neil. You are the furthest fucking thing from okay right now.”

“Well apparently so was Aaron,” Neil says with a smirk. “Didn't hold you back.”

Aaron drags one hand down his face. “I fucking told you.”

Matt shakes his head. “I'm so not even going there right now.”

“Andrew thought Aaron was dying or something,” Kevin says with a snort.

“They don't call it the ‘little death’ for nothing, I suppose,” Renee says with a small smile.

“Even you?” Aaron asks, mortified. “Christ. And you try to convince everyone you're such a good person.”

“I think I'm entitled to a joke once in a while,” Renee says with a laugh.

“I'm a bit lost,” Abby says.

“I don't think I want to know,” Wymack mutters.

“Aaron called Andrew on accident,” Matt says with a shrug and a grin.

“And we had to listen to them fucking,” Kevin says flatly.

“Aaron Michael Minyard!” Abby says indignantly. “You better not have busted any of those stitches!”

“I didn't,” Aaron mutters. He can feel how pink he is.

“I didn't fuck him,” Matt says defensively.

“Must have been one hell of a blowjob then,” Neil teases.

“It's been over a fucking year!” Aaron nearly shouts. “What the fuck do you want from me?”

“Enough,” Andrew says. “I'm not interested in this conversation.”

“Me either,” Aaron grumbles. He scowls as Renee of all people gives Matt a high five. “Can we go?”

“I'd rather you stay here,” Wymack says. “All of this over the past couple of days hasn't been Riko, it's been Neil's father.” Aaron raises his eyebrows. “Neil?”

Neil sighs. “Not - not right now.”

“I don't really care as long as he won't be an issue anymore,” Aaron says.

“He won't be,” Neil says seriously. “He's dead.”

“I'm working something out to get Riko to back off,” Kevin says quietly. “I have a meeting with Ichirou Moriyama tomorrow.”

Neil’s eyes grow wide as he looks at Kevin. “You - you can't, Kevin!”

“It's already set up,” Kevin says. “I'm going.”

“Then I'm coming with you,” Neil insists. “I won't let you face him alone.” He presses his burned and sliced up hand to Kevin's.

“You two aren't going anywhere without me,” Andrew says flatly. “So I guess that makes it a field trip.”

“You hate field trips,” Aaron mutters. Andrew just shrugs. “Whatever. Neil looks like he's going to pass out here in about three seconds.”

“Make him take one of these every six hours,” Abby says, passing a bottle of pills to Andrew. “He needs them even if he doesn't want them.” Andrew nods and pockets the pills. “You need to get some rest, Neil, especially if you plan on running all over the city tomorrow.”

“Oh fuck,” Kevin sighs. “Coach is going to flip when he sees the state you're in.”

“I can still play,” Neil says.

“No,” Abby says. “Absolutely not. No exy, no working out, absolutely no strenuous activity of any kind for at least a week, and I'll decide after that if you can handle anything more.”

“But -”

“Don't argue,” Andrew says, tugging on a lock of Neil's hair. “Let's go.” Kevin helps Neil stand up and they follow Andrew out of the lounge.

“Nothing strenuous for you either, Aaron,” Abby says. “I didn't think I had to tell you!”

“It wasn't like that!” Aaron snaps, instantly pink again.

Matt rubs one hand over his back. “It really wasn't,” he says. Aaron isn't looking at him, but he's sure Matt's grinning again.

“Well nothing else,” Abby says, fed up with all of them. “Not until I take your stitches out.”

“Fine. Can we go?” Aaron mumbles.

“Don't leave the warehouse,” Wymack grunts. “Matt, I'm sure you can understand.”

“Yep, no problem.”

“At least you have some goddamn sense.” Wymack sighs. “I need a drink.”

“Same here.” Aaron smacks the back of his hand into Matt's chest and walks off. Matt is quick to follow. They walk through the building to the elevator and ride up to the third floor again.

They get inside Aaron's apartment and sit down on the couch. “You sure you don't mind me staying here with you?” Matt asks.

“I'm sure,” Aaron says. “And it's not like I'm letting you go anywhere fucking else anyway.”

“Okay, okay.” Matt leans over and kisses Aaron's cheek. He grins and pokes the hickey on the side of Aaron's neck. “No one mentioned that at least?”

“Give them time,” Aaron mutters darkly. “And don't do that again.” He grimaces.

“Do you really not like it?” Matt asks gently.

“That's not it,” Aaron says flapping a hand at him. “I just don't want to give these fucks even more ammunition to use against me. God, when fucking Seth finds out, the world is going to end.”

Matt laughs at that. “I feel like this Seth guy and I are going to get along.”

“Yeah, probably,” Aaron sighs. “Whatever. I don't have cable or anything. I'm never here to watch it. I've got Netflix, though.”

“Sounds good to me,” Matt says with a smile. Aaron turns on the tv and lets Matt pick what they watch. Matt ends up stretching out on the couch with Aaron held against his chest in front of him. If they happen to fall asleep like that, well, no one else has to know.

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you thought?


End file.
